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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29420073">God of Thunder, Give Me Strength (Thor 1)</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/stark1993/pseuds/stark1993'>stark1993</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Starstruck- an MCU Phase 1 story [3]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/M, Fury's Big Week, Gen, Half-Human, Parent Tony Stark, Slow Burn, Super duper extra slow burn starts now, Worried Tony Stark, bad language words</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-02-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-02-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 12:26:53</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>23,015</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29420073</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/stark1993/pseuds/stark1993</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Delilah gets some interesting readings from a tiny town in New Mexico. This leads her to Asgard, a place where she gets more answers about her mother and her past than she's ever gotten. And while Frigga is eager to help Delilah save Thor, there's someone else in Asgard who is less willing to help.</p><p>This story goes along with the first Thor movie! Also, sorry this took so long to update!! </p><p>All characters except my own belong to the MCU. Many parts of MCU scripts are in this story and those are credited to the MCU as well.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Starstruck- an MCU Phase 1 story [3]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2028883</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>6</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Flight to Puente Antiguo</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This is literally right after the end of my last fic (The Element of Saving a Life), the one based on Iron Man 2. After all, it is Fury's Big Week.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>I flew through the clouds, grateful for my waterproof suit. I was getting closer and closer to Puente Antiguo. And I was making great time. That huge energy blast of lightning drained me at first, but now I felt like I had the energy of a woman with ten ventis in her. The sweet, smooth feeling of flight also helped rejuvenate me. I had only slept a few hours and had released unprecedented amounts of energy in the past few days, but I felt great. </p><p>	“Miss Stark, incoming call,” Jarvis said. My dad’s picture popped up on the interface and I huffed.</p><p>	“Saw that one coming,” I muttered. “Go ahead, Jarvis.” </p><p>	“Yes, ma’am.”</p><p>	“WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?” Dad screamed.</p><p>	“Tony, Tony,” I heard in the background. Pepper, trying to calm him down. </p><p>	“Hi, Dad, hey, Pep, listen, I can explain—”</p><p>	“I don’t want you to explain, I want you to turn your ass around this instant!” </p><p>	“No can do, buckaroo,” I replied, lowering my altitude. “The energy going off in New Mexico is off the charts wack. I’m talking my kind of wack. I have to check it out.”</p><p>	“You do not have to!” Dad groaned. “I don’t know what happened to you, but you need to rest! That was—that was lightning, and you summoned it, and—” </p><p>	“See, that’s the thing, is that I don’t need to rest! Dad, I feel so full of energy, you wouldn’t believe it. And…” I sighed. “I don’t think I did.”</p><p>	“You don’t think you did what?”  he asked. I paused, wondering how to explain it to him.</p><p>	“It doesn’t really make sense. I can’t really put it to words, but that wasn’t me!” I shook my head. I knew how insane that sounded, because what else would it have been? No one else there was able to do something like that. I sighed. “That’s why I have to go to New Mexico, because that’s where the answer will be. I can feel it. I feel like I’m finally going to figure everything out!” Dad paused and didn’t respond for a moment. I heard him and Pepper in the distance, but between the wind and other comm interference, I didn’t hear. I heard Dad come back to the phone and sigh.</p><p>	“Delilah, when I say this, I am going against every bone in my body, but…” Another sigh. “Just be careful. I know you need answers. Just don’t be too disappointed when you don’t find out everything you want, okay? And steer clear of SHIELD.”</p><p>	“SHIELD?”</p><p>	“Coulson just told us he got relocated—”</p><p>	“Oh, damn it, I didn’t even realize—that little fed’s gonna beat me to it!”</p><p>	“Delilah! Did you hear a word I said?”</p><p>	“Okay, Dad, I’ll be careful,” I scoffed. “You’re not gonna follow me, are you?”</p><p>	“Hell, no,” he replied. “I’ll trust you. I also just really do not want to have to go to New Mexico.” I laughed as the map Jarvis had pulled up showed me closing in on my target. </p><p>	“Thanks,” I said, still chuckling. “I’m gonna hang up on you now, okay?”</p><p>	“Okay,” he replied, sounding hesitant. I hung up and lowered my altitude. </p><p>	“He is not about to listen in to every word, understand, Jarvis? Or I’ll rearrange your hardware so hard you won’t even know how to turn on a light switch,” I ordered.</p><p>	“That sounds like a threat,” the robot butler replied. I just let out a short breath. </p><p>	“Oh, Jesus, listen to me. Threatening a robot… who is also my brother? And my sidekick?”</p><p>	“Sidekick?”</p><p>	“Shut it!”</p><p>	“Approaching the town.” I furrowed my eyebrows as I saw the collection of buildings we were approaching. It was only a few streets, with a few outlying houses. This is where the significant energy was felt? I looked around and noticed something on the horizon. I flew over the town and headed for what was beginning to look like a crater. I flew in closer and landed inside the crater, which was filled with strange runes and markings. In the center, embedded into the earth, was a hammer.</p><p>“Jarvis, what the hell is that?” I walked to it and crouched down, examining it. Something told me to not touch it. It had runes similar to the ones embedded in the crater on the sides and handle. I heard a faint hum coming from it. </p><p>	“Seems to be extraterrestrial,” Jarvis reported. I nodded.</p><p>	“I wanna touch it,” I whispered.</p><p>	“I would not touch it.”</p><p>	“Yeah, well, I’m gonna touch it.” I put my hand on the metal hammer, but it shocked me. I flew back into the crater, feeling jittery suddenly. “Whoa!” I sat up and laughed. “Whoa…” I flew back to it and touched it again, but this time, nothing happened. I just heard the hum. “What are these markings?”</p><p>	“I’ve found a few matches, but nothing consistent.” Pictures of old ruins with markings in them came up. A few drawings and writings inside books and journals popped up, too. </p><p>	“Jarvis, what language is that?”</p><p>	“Old Norse,” he replied, sounding surprised.</p><p>	“Okay, so we’re looking at aliens who know some ancient forgotten dialect of Old Norse,” I muttered. “That makes so much sense, I’m so glad I flew all the way to New Mexico for that.” I sighed and stood up. “Let’s go explore the town, shall we?”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Jane Foster's Astronomy Crash Course</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Delilah and Jane nerd out together.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>I’d changed into real clothes—leggings, trainers, and a Stark Industries crewneck sweatshirt—and walked through the town for a bit but didn’t see anyone except for people inside a diner. It was still early; the sun had just risen. This little town, with a population of just over two thousand, was quiet and empty. It felt like a deafening contrast between New York, where I had just come from—and last night, which was the opposite of quiet. I thought about Ivan Vanko, how he wanted to continue his father’s legacy, and how he got stuck with the wrong people. I felt bad, suddenly, for electrocuting him, but before I could really think about it, I noticed a large building with a garage, a van, and open doors. The garage door was open. I glanced inside and saw three people gathered around a table. Two young women stood talking to an older man. I gasped. They all whirled around. </p><p>	“Shit!” I cried. “I’m sorry—I was just—”</p><p>	“Oh, my God,” one of the women cried. The man stared at me. “Delilah Stark!”</p><p>	“I can’t believe it,” the man said, grinning and walking over to me. she followed, but the other woman who was wearing glasses and a beanie, just stared at us. The man grabbed my hand and started shaking it. “Dr. Erik—”</p><p>	“Selvig,” I finished. I sounded breathy. “Erik Selvig—professor at Culver, you’re—you’re, like, my favorite astrophysicist, actually—wow! Oh, my God!” I grinned back at him and we stopped shaking hands. I glanced at the other woman. “I’m so sorry, I, uh—”</p><p>	“Jane!” she said, shaking my hand, too. She had a pair of goggles on the top of her head, like the ones I had to wear in chemistry class. “Dr. Jane Foster.”</p><p>	“Oh, oh, okay! I think I read a paper of yours once!” I told her. She just looked from me to Erik and grinned. I couldn’t stop grinning at them. Erik Selvig was standing right in front of me. In Puente Antiguo, New Mexico. Which rose the question… “Um, why are you guys here?”</p><p>	“Wait,” the other girl said, walking to us. “Are you Tony Stark’s kid?” I nodded. “Whoa. Your dad is like, super hot.” I just made a face. </p><p>	“Why do people love telling me that?” </p><p>	“I’m sorry, Darcy is just my intern,” Jane muttered, giving the girl a look. Darcy shrugged and looked off outside the garage door. </p><p>	“Miss Stark, I could ask you the same thing. What are you doing here?” Erik looked down at me curiously. I just blinked and opened my mouth, but nothing came out. What do I say? Oh, my mom was an alien, so I just like to track other aliens! Hell no. I’d sound like a crazy person. I cleared my throat.</p><p>	“Uh, well, I traced a significant amount of cosmic energy from coordinates just outside of town and it looks like you guys…” I glanced around at their van and equipment. “…Beat me to it.”</p><p>	“Yeah, well,” Jane said, also looking around. “Here, we’ll show you!” She led me over to one of the tables, the one they were just gathered around and began explaining. “We traced some anomalies to this desert.”</p><p>	“Anomalies,” I repeated, chuckling.</p><p>	“Yes. In the stars.” </p><p>	“Oh. Wait, like… what?” I began to get excited. Ever since I began my research on cosmic energy, I’ve felt drawn to the stars. I started to research more and more about the cosmos and could probably name and chart a lot more stars and constellations than I cared to admit. But with these people… Well, they all think it’s cool, too. I wasn’t a nerd.</p><p>	“They were always caused by geomagnetic storms,” Jane replied, showing me charts and maps. My eyes widened and I pulled my mask out to push onto my head like a headband. </p><p>	“Jarvis, you gettin’ this?” </p><p>	After a moment: “These readings match cosmic energy flares we’ve recorded.” I grinned and let out a huge breath. I turned to Jane and grinned. </p><p>	“I’ve—we’ve been tracking the same thing!” I told her. “Only, I’ve barely scratched the surface of the astrophysics world. I’ve been focusing on this as an energy source.” </p><p>	“Oh, I can show you my energy readings!” </p><p>	“Ah,” I said, huffing. “I’d, well, I’d love that, always great to have more data, but… I’ve observed what I think is a new type of energy.”</p><p>	“A new type of energy,” Erik scoffed as he joined us at the table. Darcy was right behind him, beginning to look bored. “Trust me, you say that now but after you’ve been in this business as long as I have, you’ll realize, there’s nothing new.”</p><p>	“Oh, well, I guess I don’t mean new new; I just mean new to… Earth.” I shrugged. Jane glanced at Erik, who just frowned. I looked up at both of them. “I call it cosmic energy. I can feel it. I’ve been working on tracking other sources of it and last night a huge spike in CE levels happened. It was over quickly, but oh, baby, did it hurt! The aftermath left double the amount of CE on Earth.” I saw that I was slowly losing them. Darcy looked up.</p><p>	“Thor,” she said. </p><p>	“Huh?” </p><p>	“Oh, um,” Jane said, looking uncomfortable. “We were in the middle of this crazy storm and I kind of… hit this guy… with my van.” </p><p>	“He came out of nowhere!” Darcy cried. I felt a pull in my core and felt my hands, which were shoved in my pockets, spark. Thor. My heartbeat quickened. </p><p>	“Thor,” I repeated. “Blonde, tall?”</p><p>	“Yeah,” Jane replied.</p><p>	“Tall, muscly?”</p><p>	“Y—yeah…”</p><p>	“Blue eyes?” I don’t know how I knew that, or why I said that. When I had the vision of the man who just had to be Thor, his eyes were filled with lightning. </p><p>	“Yeah, how do you know that?”</p><p>	“I saw him in a dream. I guess it was more like a vision,” I said. Erik cleared his throat and ran his hand down his face.</p><p>	“You said, ‘other sources.’ You know of existing sources of this… cosmic energy?” He sounded like he regretted every word that came out of his mouth. He didn’t want to know, but he was a scientist. He had to know. I nodded slowly.</p><p>	“Yeah, uh…” I tilted my head. “Me.” I raised my hand up and summoned an energy sphere. It danced in my hand. These were the first people, other than my dad, Happy, Pepper, and Rhodey—not to mention the two men that Dad and I actually killed—to ever see my powers. Suddenly, alarms and sirens went off around their lab. </p><p>	“Oh, my God!” Jane yelled as their equipment started to go crazy. I extinguished my hand. She and Erik fixed everything making noise while Darcy just stared at me. I glanced at her.</p><p>	“Could you do me a favor and, like, not tell anyone I did that because I’d be in so much trouble—” I tried to say, but Darcy cut me off. </p><p>	“What ARE YOU?” she screamed. My heart fell into my stomach. I had always been prepared for that reaction, of course, but it stung so much more than I thought it would have. Why did I think it would have gone any differently? Sure, everyone so far had been alarmed, but they were never so upset about it. “That was the coolest shit I have ever seen!” I did a double-take. Okay, so not upset. Impressed? I just sighed.</p><p>	“It’s a long story…”</p><p>	“I’m about to regret coming here, aren’t I?” Erik mumbled. He was staring at me, out of breath. </p><p>	“No!” Jane exclaimed, still staring at me. She shook her head. “No! We need to get to work!”</p><p>	“Please,” I breathed out. </p><p>	“We have—I mean, I have—so many questions, but—” I put a hand on Jane’s shoulder. </p><p>	“One thing at a time?” I suggested. She grinned and nodded.</p><p>	“Please,” Erik stepped in, “I’m not old enough to have a heart attack yet, but this… this might do it for me.” Jane and Darcy laughed, and I smiled as we all got to work. Jane began showing me all of their readings and charts, and I had Jarvis pick everything up. After explaining some of our work together, we began to see how we were looking for the exact same thing, just in different spheres. I asked Jarvis to pull all of our work into one folder, which I sent to Jane, so that we had everything compiled. Erik stepped away for a coffee break, and I turned to see him staring out the garage door to the mountains. Darcy put some pictures that had just come off the printer up on the wall. Erik came back over to look over Jane’s shoulder. </p><p>	“Darcy, when you’re done, take the soil samples to Professor Meyers. Remind him, he owes me!” Jane called to her intern. Darcy just sighed. I chuckled at her.</p><p>	“We might want to perform a spectral analysis,” Erik muttered.</p><p>	“Uh, ‘we?’” Jane asked, turning to him. I continued matching our readings into one giant chart. I had never studied physics outside of school, so I wasn’t an expert, but I was beginning to feel like I was one. </p><p>	“I flew all the way out here.” The older scientist shrugged. “Might as well make myself useful.” Jane tried to hide a smile, but I saw it. </p><p>	“You know what would be useful?” She began plugging things in and messing with her equipment. “Do you still have that friend at LIGO?”</p><p>	“LIGO?” I asked, glancing up. “That… the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory?” </p><p>	“She was more than just a friend,” Erik chuckled. He glanced at me. “You say you aren’t an astronomer, yet…”</p><p>	“I go to Midtown School of Science and Technology,” I replied. I shrugged. He nodded and glanced back at Jane. Midtown drilled into us completely useless science information… at least, I thought it was useless. I now regretted playing paper football with Addy for all of my last astronomy class. Though, there were some things I remembered and was recognizing in Jane’s work. 	</p><p>	“Could you call in a favor?” Jane asked Erik. He sighed. </p><p>	“You don’t think this was just a magnetic storm, do you?”</p><p>	“Do magnetic storms do this, Dr. Selvig?” I asked, showing him a screen. </p><p>	“Please, call me Erik.”</p><p>	“Okay, Erik.”</p><p>	“If I’m right,” Jane said, sounding excited, “Their observatory would have picked up—”</p><p>	“The same gravitational waves I felt when lightning fell down from the sky and flew through me into Ivan Vanko!” I finished. Again, they all just looked at me. I grinned. “I’ll explain later.”</p><p>	“Yeah,” Erik replied. </p><p>	“This is all cosmic energy. We’ve been monitoring it for years and never noticed! This is amazing!” I cried as I stared in awe at the monitors and screens. </p><p>	“Meaning?” Erik asked. We showed him another monitor and Jane motioned to part of the chart. </p><p>	“Meaning these anomalies might signify something bigger. Delilah’s right.”</p><p>	“How big are we talking?”</p><p>	“Win a Nobel Prize big,” I told him, grinning at Jane. We couldn’t stop smiling at each other. I felt like we would be great friends. Jane nodded and motioned to yet another computer’s monitor.</p><p>	“I think the lensing around the edges is characteristic of—”</p><p>	“An Einstein-Rosen bridge!” Jane and I exclaimed at the same time. Erik furrowed his eyebrows at me. </p><p>	“A what?” Darcy asked. Erik turned to her.</p><p>	“I thought you were a science major.”</p><p>	“Political science.” Erik just looked at Jane, almost disappointed.</p><p>	“She was the only applicant,” Jane said with a shrug. Erik turned back to me.</p><p>	“And I thought you had only ‘scratched the surface’ of the astrophysics realm!”</p><p>	“Okay, so maybe scratching the surface means something different to the Starks? When my dad and I scratched the surface of something a couple days ago, we created a new element—”</p><p>	“You WHAT?” the two scientists screamed. I held my hands up and backed up. </p><p>	“Don’t worry, you’ll hear about it soon enough.” I sighed. “But if I remember anything from my astronomy class and my own research… Darcy, it’s a theoretical connection between two points of space-time.”</p><p>	“It’s a wormhole,” Jane reexplained. I nodded. </p><p>	“You studied this?” Erik asked me.</p><p>	“I had a class.”</p><p>	“Midtown,” Jane muttered. I laughed and nodded. Jane glanced over some pictures and pointed to one. It was a picture of stars they must have recorded last night. “What do you see here?”</p><p>	“Stars,” Erik said, tilting his head as he examined the picture. I nodded but felt something off. </p><p>	“Those do not appear to be any stars mapped for this region,” Jarvis said, pulling up a map of the night sky. I gasped and looked at Jane. She nodded knowingly. </p><p>	“These aren’t our stars.” I stared down at the map of the stars that Jane pulled up. Why did I feel like I could name all of these? “This is the star alignment for our quadrant this time of year. So, unless Ursa Minor decided to take the day off…”</p><p>	“These are someone else’s constellations,” I finished in a murmur. “That must be why I—Jarvis—observed the energy as something outside of this system.” I heard a chuckle from Darcy, who was looking at more photos posted on a corkboard set up by large windows.  </p><p>	“Hey, check it out,” she said, motioning for us to walk over. The two scientists and I walked over to see what Darcy was talking about—a blurry picture taken with a shape in the middle.</p><p>	“No, it can’t be,” Erik whispered. </p><p>	“I think I left something at the hospital,” Jane said, storming out as she whipped the plastic goggles off her head.</p><p>	“Oh, she’s leaving,” I said, pointing after her. Erik sighed and followed. “You’re going, too, okay—”</p><p>	“JANE!” Darcy yelled, running after her boss. </p><p>	“And we’re all going. Are we all going?” </p><p>	“Would you shut up and get in the van?” Erik cried, turning around. </p><p>	“Ah, my least favorite thing to hear as a woman! But, yeah, I’m coming!” I called after him.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Asgard</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Delilah takes a little trip...</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>We ran into the hospital after a frantic Jane. I finally got the whole story; they were chasing the storm, Thor just appeared, Jane hit him, took him to the hospital, left him there, but now we needed him back. So, there I was. Running into a county hospital in The Middle of Nowhere, New Mexico. Jane ran into the nurses’ station and the calm woman looked up at her with furrowed eyebrows.</p><p>	“I need to see—” she said, out of breath, but the woman stopped her.</p><p>	“Only relatives can visit right now, sweetheart,” she said. “Not people who hit the patients with cars.” Jane scoffed.</p><p>	“But I’m—I’m his wife,” Jane cried. </p><p>	“Is she crazy?” I whispered to Erik. He just sighed and nodded. </p><p>	“I thought you said last night you didn’t know him,” the nurse replied, leaning back. Jane paused.</p><p>	“I meant… What I meant was I barely know him anymore. The man he’s become. He’s changed. I mean, what woman really knows her husband?” Jane bluffed. My jaw dropped. She was good. The woman just softened her eyebrows.</p><p>	“None of us, dear.” She sighed and cleared her throat. “The thing is, he was in room one-oh-two, but he escaped, so—”</p><p>	“No!” Jane cried, running down the hall. The other started after her, too, so I groaned and ran off with them. “No, no, no—” Jane ran into room 102. We followed and walked into an empty room with broken restraints lying on the bed and a mess of equipment everywhere.</p><p>	“Oh, my God…” Darcy muttered. We all ran back out to the van. Erik was beginning to get out of breath. I leaned forward from my seat in the back and stared at Jane. </p><p>	“Typical. I just lost my most important piece of evidence,” she whispered, stunned and angry. </p><p>	“So, now what?” Darcy asked.</p><p>	“We find him.” Erik stared at Jane in disbelief. </p><p>	“Did you see what he did in there?” he exclaimed. “I don’t know if finding him is the best idea!”</p><p>	“We have to find him!” I pitched in. “He’s got so much we need—”</p><p>	“Well, our data can’t tell us what it was like to be inside that event, and he can! So, we’re gonna find him.”</p><p>	“Okay,” Darcy muttered, pulling out a taser and some mace. </p><p>	“You good?” I asked. She looked up at me.</p><p>	“Yeah.”</p><p>	“So, we’re gonna look all over New Mexico, right?” Erik asked, already sounding defeated. </p><p>	“Exactly,” Jane said, starting the van.</p><p>“I should warn you all now,” I spoke up. “SHIELD is probably out there on the look for Thor, too.”</p><p>	“SHIELD?” Erik scoffed.	</p><p>	“Don’t ask me what it stands for, I just know that they mean business. And they’d do anything to people who get in their way.” I sighed. “We should be careful.”</p><p>	“Right,” Jane said. “Careful.” She turned around to back up. There was a loud thud, and everyone jolted as she hit something. “WHAT?” I gasped as I grabbed the door and whirled around. Everyone jumped out of the van and ran back to a blonde man in a pair of hospital clothes who was lying face up on the road. “I’m so sorry! I swear I’m not doing this on purpose!” </p><p>	I stared down at the man in awe. It was the same person I saw in my dream. I knew it. And I could feel it. He felt familiar somehow, like someone I’ve always known. I knelt down next to him and touched his chest. A jolt of electricity flew through me and he jolted up with a scream. I gasped. Jane jumped back. He stared at me as he panted.</p><p>	“Alonia?” he asked before falling back down. </p><p>	“I think you may have hit him with the van one time too many,” Darcy said to Jane. Jane just groaned. </p><p> </p><p>	I stood leaning against the window as Thor walked around, looking for a shirt. At least, I hoped that was what he was looking for as he was only wearing black skinny jeans. He was hot, that’s for sure, and had abs for days, but something about him was still so familiar. </p><p>	“You know, for a crazy homeless person, he’s pretty cut,” Darcy said as Thor walked out of the bathroom. He picked up a shirt but was just carrying it around. “Hey, sorry I tased you!” Thor didn’t respond. Instead, he walked around and started touching a lot of things. Jane ran over to him.</p><p>	“Excuse me, excuse me!” she cried, putting equipment back. He backed up and looked down at the shirt. He held it up and pointed to a nametag stuck on the black fabric. </p><p>	“What is this?”</p><p>	“Oh!” Jane exclaimed, ripping it off. She laughed. “My ex. Good with patients and bad with relationships. Uh, they’re the only clothes I had that would fit you.”</p><p>	“They will suffice,” Thor said, walking away from her. He looked over at where Erik, Darcy, and I were sitting, and his eyes widened. “Lady Alonia! I thought it a dream!” </p><p>	“Uh,” I said as he hurried to me. “I’m not—”</p><p>	“I don’t understand!” he cried, lifting me up and spinning me. “How are you here?”</p><p>	“I—whoa, big guy, put me down! I’m…” He set me down. “I’m not Alonia. I don’t know who that is… I’m Delilah. Stark? Not Alonia…” His face fell. “Sorry.” He stared at me intently for a moment, then shook his head and cleared his throat. </p><p>	“This mortal form has grown weak,” he announced, finally slipping the shirt on over his head. “I need sustenance!”</p><p> </p><p>	“Heimdall,” a sweet voice called from behind the man. He turned around as she entered his golden observatory from the rainbow bridge that crossed a raging sea. He knew she was coming to see him, so her arrival announcement was no surprise. Behind her, the glorious city and palace she lived in shimmered in its golden beauty.</p><p>	“My queen,” Heimdall replied with a bow. His golden eyes pierced her striking blue ones. “Thank you for coming.”</p><p>	“How is he?” she asked, approaching the man. </p><p>	“He has… found a few friends. Three mortals—” </p><p>	“Ah,” she replied with a smile. “Well, thank you for the update, of course.”</p><p>	“And Delilah of the Sun Constellations.” Her face paled. Her heart began to pound. </p><p>	“What?” she asked quietly, her eyes shimmering. “She found him?”</p><p>	Heimdall nodded. “She is helping him in his quest to recover Mjolnir.”</p><p>	“How did this happen?” the queen asked, hands placed over her chest. She then chuckled. “Alonia always had a way of getting in the middle of the action. And the trouble…”</p><p>	“Delilah is not her mother,” Heimdall said. </p><p>	“No,” the queen replied. She felt a lump in her throat, remembering her dear friend. “No, she is not. She is stronger, isn’t she?” Heimdall smiled a little, too.</p><p>	“Being half Celestial half Midgardian does create an interesting mix.” </p><p>	“I wish I could speak to her. Oh, I wonder if she’s as beautiful and graceful as her mother!”</p><p>	“Speak the word, my queen. She intends on meddling in a place she should not go.”</p><p>	“Speak the word,” she scoffed to herself. She then raised her hands. “Oh, do it, Heimdall, before I regret this!”</p><p> </p><p>	“How’d you get inside that cloud?” Jane asked Thor as he shoveled pancakes into his mouth. We were sitting around a table at the local diner. Everyone was staring at Thor eating faster than I’ve seen anyone eat anything ever. I watched him intently. I had an overwhelming feeling that I knew this man, and he seemed to know, yet he called me by the wrong name. Who was Alonia? Why did he mistake me for her? Just as I was about to ask Thor who Alonia was, Darcy spoke.</p><p>	“Also, how could you eat an entire box of Pop-Tarts and still be this hungry?” Everyone stared at Thor in disbelief as he continued to eat pancakes practically whole. He took a huge chug of coffee, then looked intently at the mug. </p><p>	“This drink, I like it,” he announced to the whole diner, face full of pancakes. </p><p>“I know, it’s great—” Darcy began.</p><p>“Another!” He passionately threw the ceramic mug down. It shattered on the floor loudly and everyone jumped. I gasped and my mouth hung open. </p><p>	“Sorry, Izzy!” Jane exclaimed to a woman behind the counter. “Little accident.” She and I bent down to clean it up. A young woman who worked at the diner came over with a broom and offered to clean it. I thanked him and sat back down. Jane stared at Thor as she was still squatted by the broken mug.</p><p>“What was that?” Jane cried, standing and glaring down at Thor.</p><p>“It was delicious! I want another!” Thor replied, sounding completely justified in his smashing of the mug. Who does that? </p><p>“Well, you could have just said so,” Jane snapped as she sat down. </p><p>“I just did.”</p><p>“No, I mean ask. Nicely!”</p><p>“I meant no disrespect.” Thor seemed genuinely concerned that he upset Jane. He seemed sorry, but not completely. Reading him was hard. And I knew I still needed to ask him about Alonia, whoever she was.</p><p>	“Alright, then,” Jane said. “No more smashing. Deal?” Thor paused and considered the pretty scientist for a few seconds as she stared at him. </p><p>	“You have my word.”</p><p>	“Good.”</p><p>	We fell awkwardly silent as two men came into the diner, right up to the counter. I sighed and sipped my own coffee, unable to stop myself from listening to every conversation in the bar. Though, the man ordering was loud enough, I didn’t need my super-alien hearing. </p><p>	“The usual please, Izzy,” he called. His friend laughed.</p><p>	“You missed all the excitement out at the crater! They’re saying some kind of satellite landed out in the desert,” the second man said. Thor went back to his breakfast as Erik, Jane, and I made brief eye contact. “Yeah, we were having a good time with it until the feds showed up.” I glanced at Erik.</p><p>	“SHIELD.”</p><p>	“Excuse me,” Jane said, turning around to face the men seated at the bar counter. “Did you say there was a satellite crash?” </p><p>	“Ooh,” I piped up. “Did I not mention that?” Erik and Jane whirled around to glare at me. “In my defense, a lot is going on right now!” Jane turned back to the men.</p><p>	“Yeah,” one said. Darcy laughed as she looked at Thor.</p><p>	“Oh, my God, this is going on Facebook,” she chuckled. “Smile!” Thor grinned at her with more pancake showing than teeth and she took a picture with her phone. I put my hand on her phone and gave her a look.</p><p>	“I wouldn’t do that just yet,” I told her. She sighed.</p><p>	“What did it look like?” Erik asked. “The satellite.”</p><p>	“Oh, well,” the first man said, “I don’t know anything about satellites, but it was heavy. I mean, nobody could lift it.” Thor dropped his fork on his plate. I thought of the hammer and how it shot me with electricity when I touched it. I gasped, got an overwhelming urge to do something I couldn’t explain, and grabbed Thor’s arm. He just looked down at me. Nothing happened. </p><p>	“Sorry,” I muttered. “I thought—never mind.”</p><p>	“They said it was radioactive,” the other man said. “I had my hands all over it—I’m probably sterile now!” I frowned as Thor stood up and approached the men at the counter. He grabbed the man’s jacket and turned him to face himself. </p><p>	“Which way?” Thor growled.</p><p>	“Oh, uh, fifty miles west of here.” Thor ran out of the diner, and Jane and the rest of the us were not far behind. “I wouldn’t waste my time! Looks like the whole army was coming in when we left!” I paused and turned around in the doorway.</p><p>	“Hey, did you see, uh, any specific logo or anything on any of their stuff?” I asked. The two men looked at each other.</p><p>	“Hmm, well, come to think of it, I suppose we didn’t.” </p><p>	“Okay. Great. Thanks!” I called as I ran out to follow the others. “Fucking SHIELD…” I glanced at Darcy who was giving me a face. “Sorry. I was… Okay. Oh, there goes Thor.” He was casually jaywalking through an intersection. I ran up to him with Jane.</p><p>	“Where are you going?” she asked.</p><p>	“Fifty miles west of here,” Thor replied. </p><p>	“Why?”</p><p>	“To get what belongs to me.”</p><p>	“Oh, so you own a satellite now?” </p><p>	“It’s not what they say it is.”</p><p>	“It’s a hammer!” I cried. They both looked at me. “It’s your hammer, isn’t it?” Thor just cleared his throat and nodded.</p><p>	“Well, sorry, but the government seems to think your hammer is theirs. So, you just intend to go in there and take it?” Jane cried. </p><p>	“Yes,” Thor replied, stopping and looking down at both of us. Erik and Darcy caught up to us as we stood in the middle of the road. Good thing this town had a population of ten, or we’d be in someone’s way. “If you take me there now, I’ll tell you everything you wish to know.”</p><p>	“Everything?” Jane asked.</p><p>	“Yes. All the answers you seek will be yours, once I reclaim Mjolnir.” I did a double take as he said the last word.</p><p>	“And there it is,” I muttered. “We’ve come across a crazy person.” </p><p>	“Myeu-muh?” Darcy asked, looking from Thor to Jane to me. “What’s myeu-muh?”</p><p>	“Um,” I said quietly, “It’s his magic hammer, I think.”</p><p>	“Can I have a word, Jane?” Erik asked. They both stepped aside to the curb and I looked up at Thor. Finally.</p><p>	“Who is Alonia?”</p><p>	“Alonia…” Thor looked up and around at the sky. “She was… well, I thought she was you. Are you truly not the Lady Alonia of the Sun Constellations?” </p><p>	“The lady what of the what?” I scoffed and laughed, then paused. My heartbeat sped up and I gasped. “Oh, my God. My mother.”</p><p>	“What did you say your name was?” </p><p>	“Delilah,” I breathed. He grinned and grabbed me by the shoulders.</p><p>	“It is you! Ah! I cannot believe I have met you—and you have grown! You’ve grown… very quickly, actually—”</p><p>	“Wait, you know me?” </p><p>	“Yes,” he said, smiling. Erik and Jane walked over. “You were born on Asgard.” My jaw dropped. I should have realized it sooner. Thor, Bifrost, Mjolnir, Asgard… They made us study different mythologies in cultures class. We read about so many ancient gods and myths from Babylon, the Aztecs, Greece and Rome, and Norway. Here, standing in front of me was Thor, the god of lightning. When he appeared on Earth, I killed Ivan Vanko with that lightning strike. I must have summoned his powers somehow, but he seemed to be unable to use them now. Mjolnir shocked me, but there wasn’t even a tiny spark when I grabbed Thor.</p><p>	“Sorry,” Jane said, walking back to us. “But I can’t take you.”</p><p>	“Then this is where we say goodbye,” Thor replied. I walked over to Erik.</p><p>	“Um, I think he’s more than just some crazy guy…” I told the older man. Erik shook his head and sighed. I shivered and looked down at the goosbumps on my arm. The little hairs on my arm and the back of my neck stood up. I looked around, wondering what was causing that. </p><p>	“He’s dangerous. What he was talking about cannot and does not exist.”</p><p>	“Right, but—”</p><p>	“Miss Stark,” Jarvis interrupted in my ear. I had almost forgotten about the mask still holding my hair back. “There is a significant amount of energy coming in.”</p><p>	“Yeah, I think I feel that, buddy,” I replied, taking a few steps away from Erik as I kept looking down and around the streets. </p><p>	“Coming in quickly.”</p><p>	“Where?” I cried. Nothing was happening around me. Suddenly, a whooshing sound surrounded me. Colorful light spun around me as I realized it came from above. </p><p>	“DELILAH!” Erik yelled.</p><p>	“The Bifrost!” Thor bellowed.</p><p>	“Jarvis, don’t tell Dad about this!” My stomach was sucked out from under me as I was whisked away to God knows where. I screamed until I lost consciousness.</p>
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<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Mom's Best Friend</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>I woke up in a hazy dream. I was unsure of where I was, and everything was blurry and muddled. A blurry form ran by me, giggling. A child. Another ran after. I began running as the haze dropped, and I was running through a giant grand palace made of gold. I ran down a hallway with arches that overlooked a courtyard where men walked and talked. Men in weird costumes—golden armor. I turned back to the hall, where I was chasing after two young boys. I had a beautiful blue dress on that I had gathered in the front as I ran. The two boys, one blonde and taller than the other, and the other lean and dark-haired, laughed and shoved each other. The blonde one turned around.</p><p>	Striking blue eyes stared into me and he shrieked playfully and grabbed the other. I knew those eyes. Thor. Thor… as a child? What was I doing here? Unless I was—</p><p>	“You’ll never catch us!” young Thor screamed as he turned a corner, now dragging the other boy behind him. </p><p>	I laughed and ran after them, but suddenly felt dizzy. The floor fell out from under me and I spun and spun until I landed once more, this time in a grass covered court enclosed by golden walls and arches. I had a wooden sword aimed at the little Thor.</p><p>	“Oh, ho, ho,” I called as Thor who was standing on a short wall and pointing a shorter wooden sword at me. I paced back and forth. “The young might Thor. A worthy opponent, I should say.” I sounded just like myself, only it felt wrong. This wasn’t me. </p><p>	“ROAR!” Thor yelled, giving his best little battle cry. He jumped off the wall and charged at me. “I’ll defeat you once and for all, you villain!” I gasped and blocked his attack. He swung the sword harder than I anticipated—he looked only six or seven. </p><p>	“You’ll have to catch me first!” I replied, turning and running. Did I have an accent?</p><p>The other boy, the dark-haired one, jumped out from behind a column and grinning mischievously at me. His bright green eyes glittered. </p><p>	“Not if I catch you first!” he hollered, running at me as well. I gasped and swept him up as he ran for me. He laughed and clung to me. </p><p>	“Young man! You’re supposed to be guarding the treasure!” I laughed and tickled him, and he shrieked and laughed, too. </p><p>	“Loki, you’ve ruined the plan,” Thor whined, throwing his wooden sword onto the ground. I turned around and sighed at Thor. Loki hmphed and I tilted my head at him. Is this Thor’s brother?</p><p>	“Well, how does she know the plan?” Loki cried. I grinned and set him back on the ground.</p><p>	“The little princes aren’t very skilled at whispering,” I retorted, kneeling to see them both at eye level. Inside, I knew exactly who I was. I knew I was Alonia of the Sun Constellations. My mother. I—she—looked between the boys. The princes. </p><p>	“Alonia!” a voice called from behind us. Thor, Loki, and I turned around to see a woman with long golden-brown hair wearing an ornate red dress with gold weaved in it. “There you are, darlings.”</p><p>	“Hello, Frigga,” I replied, standing. Loki grinned and ran for her.</p><p>	“Mother!” She picked him up and hugged him. He hugged her and did not let go. Thor walked to her and held her hand. </p><p>	“What are you all up to?” Frigga asked. </p><p>	“Teaching these sons of yours a thing or two about strategy!” I teased. Thor pouted.</p><p>	“You spied on us!”</p><p>	“Yeah!” Loki joined in. </p><p>	“Another thing you ought to prepare for when you are leading Asgard,” I replied. Frigga smiled and ruffled Thor’s hair. She looked down at him and said something, but I couldn’t hear. Everything went blurry again. I felt the spinning until I felt that feeling of my stomach being pulled ahead of me, and saw the lights flashing all around me. I screamed. </p><p>	I landed on my ass in a golden dome-shaped room, facing a dais with a dark man in golden armor standing at the center, hands on a large sword plunged into the ground. A woman was standing next to him with a detailed blue-and-gold dress on. Her golden-brown hair was braided around her head and the rest of it curled until it ended at her waist. They both looked at me. </p><p>	I slid into an attack stance and summoned a spear made completely of energy. It crackled and I held it out.</p><p>	“Who the fuck are you?” I demanded. The woman’s eyes widened, but the man stayed perfectly still. I looked at the woman once more, then lowered the spear. I gasped. “You—I saw you—”  </p><p>	“Delilah,” she said calmly. She had a sweet and kind voice. Just like in my dream. I furrowed my eyebrows and looked around. I gulped.</p><p>	“Am I… on Asgard?”</p><p>	“Yes,” the man replied. I pulled back at the sound of his ridiculously deep voice. </p><p>	“And you are…” I sighed. “Frigga.” I remembered her from the memory. She smiled and nodded. The man glanced at her.</p><p>	“She must be seeing memories from her mother,” he told her.</p><p>	“Yes, Heimdall,” Frigga said with a nod. “Yes, I suppose so.” My heart was pounding, but I ditched the spear and stood back up. </p><p>	“You’re Thor’s mom?”</p><p>	“And queen of Asgard,” Heimdall said. Frigga smiled and gave me a small curtsy.</p><p>	“Delilah, maybe you and I should return to the palace.”</p><p>	“I—What about Thor? How come he didn’t get beamed up?” </p><p>	“Beamed… up?” she asked, giving me a quizzical look.</p><p>	“Uh, like,” I motioned back to the hole in the wall that I flew in from. I decided to not try to explain Star Trek to a couple of aliens. “The Bifrost.”</p><p>	“Thor… Thor has been banished.”</p><p>	“What? Why?” I asked even though it made sense. That must be why Thor was stripped of his powers. This man with the huge sword must have cast Thor out via the Bifrost. What did Thor do?</p><p>	Frigga held her hand out toward me. She seemed just as warm and inviting as she did in the dream of the memory from my mother. I needed to find out how that happened, anyway—how I was having her memories. Maybe she was communicating with me beyond just staring at me as we both floated in the pitch-black vacuum of space.</p><p>	“Shall we?” Frigga asked. “To the palace.”</p><p>	“To…” I walked forward, to the opening of the golden dome, where a horse in magnificent armor was waiting. It was probably a bad idea to go—what if it was all just a trap? —but my curiosity and desperation to know my mother overpowered any sensible thoughts. “To the palace.” Heimdall helped his queen onto the horse, and motioned to help me, but I jumped up into the air and floated next to the queen.</p><p>	“My lady—”</p><p>	“I’m okay, really,” I replied. I looked down and out toward the huge palace and city made completely of gold. It felt familiar, like I had been here before. Of course, I had. I was born here, apparently. The rainbow bridge of flashing and zooming colors under me led from the domed observatory to the entrance of the city, and it would have been a long journey if not for the quick Asgardian horse. I followed Frigga at a generous distance, still unsure of what to think, and unwilling to have a conversation. Part of me was afraid of what the palace held. </p><p>Would I have more dreams and flashbacks from my mother? What was she trying to tell me?</p><p>	The queen passed under gates made completely of gold as well, nodding to guards who stiffened when they saw me. I resisted throwing up the peace sign at them. Frigga dismounted and turned to me with a hopeful smile. I dropped to my feet and smiled back. </p><p>	“Come on, dear,” she said, reaching back and taking my hand. She dragged me through open hallways and large rooms until we reached a wing that was guarded by two men in gold armor. Two young women were sitting on a bench on a wall and talking to each other animatedly. One glanced up and swatted the other. They jumped up and rushed to us. They bowed.</p><p>	“My queen,” one said, significantly taller and broader than other, with brown hair and copper skin. The other, more petite and lighter, kept her gaze low. Her pointed ears peaked out from behind her light red hair. </p><p>	“Olga, Alva,” the queen replied. Olga glanced down at Alva. Alva looked from Frigga to the other servant. She sighed.</p><p>	“Your majesty, the king has requested your presence,” Alva said, speaking quietly. “He—he required me to let you know that he is aware of the Bifrost’s opening without his permission.” Frigga chuckled and laid a hand on Alva’s cheek. If I didn’t know better, I would think that Alva flinched a little.</p><p>	“Of course, he did,” She glanced at me. “If you would find my guest some appropriate clothes for our audience with the king.</p><p>	“Of course, your majesty,” Olga responded, bowing deeper. She grabbed Alva by her arm, and they scurried off. I watched behind the queen and I as their modest skirts swished as they ran. I looked back at Frigga, who was already ahead of me, pushing open a set of tall double doors. My eyes widened and I flew quickly to her. </p><p>	“An audience with the king?” I scoffed as we walked into a large room. I glanced around at the lounging chairs, fireplace, waving sheer curtains. “I… I think this was a bad idea. Not to be rude, Mrs. Queen… Ma’am... Frigga, but I should get back to Earth! I’m trying to help Thor, and—” I groaned and slapped my hands to my mouth— “My dad is gonna kill me!”</p><p>	“Thor’s journey is his own,” Frigga simply replied, sitting on a red and gold chaise. She patted the spot next to her. I huffed. What was up with all the damn gold? “He has disobeyed orders, my husband sent him away… He must find his way on his own. Though it is valiant of you to help him.”</p><p>	“Well,” I said, sitting next to her, “He helped me, first, I guess. When he landed on Earth from the Bifrost, I was in a pretty big battle myself. I think I accidentally summoned some of Thor’s powers to defeat him… and kill him, but… Well—”</p><p>	“Incredible,” Frigga whispered, searching my eyes. “You’re so much like her, but there’s so much… different.”</p><p>	“Yeah, well, when your dad is like mine and has you grow up across the whole country from him you kind of turn out to be a little crazy…” My mind trailed off and I furrowed my eyebrows at her. “Odin. That’s—that’s Thor’s father and your husband. Why did he banish Thor? What did Thor do?”</p><p>	“Thor made some… unwise choices.” She sighed and glanced down. “It was hard on my husband, making that decision.”</p><p>	“Now he wants to see me,” I said with a groan. “Is he gonna banish me, too?”</p><p>	“My husband is actually in the Odinsleep,” she replied. I looked at her curiously. Did Asgardians refer to taking a nap as their name and sleeping? If that was the case, I was looking forward to a little Delilahsleep. After the battle with Vanko and all the incredible energy I had been radiating recently, not to mention my cross-country flight, I was purely exhausted. This moment of sitting and just talking had made me realize that. </p><p>	But my questions were more pressing than the sleep I felt was missing.</p><p>	“Your husband wants to sleep-talk to us?” I asked, forgoing the snippier remarks and jokes I had. </p><p>	“The Odinsleep is… similar to a Midgardian coma.”</p><p>	“Midgardian?”</p><p>	“Midgard is what you would call Earth.”</p><p>	“Oh.”</p><p>	“The Odinsleep allows my husband to replenish the Odinforce, which is the magical force that gives the Allfather his power. He is left… completely vulnerable in this state. At least I can talk to him; he is aware of his surroundings. It must have destroyed him, banishing Thor, and then being confronted by Loki.” Her voice sounded strained, like she was worried. I couldn’t blame her. I guess if I had a husband, or even a boyfriend, I would be worried if he was in a coma. And a magic coma, at that. </p><p>	“Wait,” I whispered. “If he is in the Odinsleep, and Thor is stuck, then who is the king?”</p><p>	“My second born,” she replied, standing as the doors opened. “Loki.”</p><p>	For some reason, that made my heart stop. Why did I feel so nervous to meet some random man—alien—Asgardian? —who I had just seen as a little kid in some weird dream that felt like a gift from my mother? Olga and Alva walked in, handed bundles of dark blue fabric to Frigga, and then rushed out again. she turned to me and smiled.</p><p>	“Unfortunately, I cannot have you appear in the king’s presence in…” She looked me up and down and tried to hide the judgment in her face. I rolled my eyes and walked to her. I took the fabric, which I assumed was a dress, and sighed.</p><p>	“Okay, but only because this looks absolutely gorgeous.”</p>
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<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Devilishly Handsome</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>If you've been waiting for Loki to show up... You're welcome. Sorry if he's not really your thing, but I promise this work will not just become about Loki! There's a lot more than just some dude in store for Delilah.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>I walked out from behind the changing curtains and looked at myself in the mirror. The dress was simple, even boring compared to Frigga’s gold-encrusted gown. It rippled down to the floor, and clung to the top of me well, but had a simple scoop neckline and long tight sleeves. If it weren’t for the feel of the fabric and the vibrant dark blue color, I would have thought this dress was similar in look to Olga’s and Alva’s.</p><p>And then there was the intricate pattern—which looked like little white polka dots at first, which I thought was a little tacky and surprising for these people who lived in an all-gold palace, but then I saw that the dots moved and twinkled. The polka dots were stars. I walked over to Frigga. She turned and gasped. </p><p>	“What?” I cried, looking around. “What’s wrong?”</p><p>	“You…” She smiled and shook her head. “I’m sorry. That dress was your mother’s and it… It fits you perfectly.” My jaw dropped. This woman held so many answers to my mother that she was making me almost forget about needing to get back home. I wanted to know everything about my mom; the sound of her laugh, what her favorite dessert was—did we have the same favorite color? </p><p>	I looked down at the dress and touched it. Maybe Frigga would let me have it…</p><p>	Frigga sighed and shook it off, then offered her arm. “Shall we?”</p><p>	“So, Loki is king for now,” I said as we walked down the hall. </p><p>	“Indeed. Until Odin is better.”	</p><p>	“And he’s mad about the Bifrost.”</p><p>	“He forbade travel to and from Midgard. Declared it treason.”</p><p>	My mouth went dry. I just committed treason against a planet I didn’t even know existed? Is that even possible?</p><p>	“Treason for me, dear, not you, of course,” Frigga added. </p><p>	“Oh, no, of course.” I looked around as we entered a hall with murals all around the walls and ceiling. I looked up at one with Thor and Odin in the center, weapons raised around a multitude of scenes happening. Golden runes danced around the mural. “Jarvis—” I almost had him analyze the runes, but realized he was offline. I sighed and we approached bigger and grander doors than the first few. Did this place just keep getting bigger? Guards opened the doors and we walked into a huge room—low ceilings, but as big as a football stadium. As big as the venue for main events at the Stark Expo. I caught my breath, because instead of glass ceilings and sleek metal supports and architecture, this room was, obviously, all golden. It was dazzling. </p><p>	Frigga led the way through the long room of gold and columns to the far end where a man was reclined back in a throne made of—you guessed it—pure gold. Two guards stood at the base of the dais that the throne was upon. The man was wearing a helmet of—Jesus Christ! I thought, I might need sunglasses for all this fucking gold—gold and dark green and black armor. The helmet had horns sticking out of it, and I personally thought they looked ridiculous. He sat up immediately and his bright green eyes widened. I caught my breath. 	</p><p>	They were the same eyes I saw in my dream. The same jet-black hair, but this boy was no longer a boy. He was tall and strong yet lean, with cheekbones and a jaw that could cut me. I stared at him, absolutely and, unfortunately, enamored. </p><p>	“Mother,” he greeted, standing. He walked down the steps from the throne to us. “And Lady Alonia of—”</p><p>	“The Sun Constellations?” I finished, interrupting his deep and smooth voice. I snapped myself out of the trance he seemed to have me caught in. “No. Apparently, I’m her kid, though.” He seemed to be taken aback by me.</p><p>	“Do not interrupt the Allfather!” one of the guards boomed behind him. The king threw a hand back to the man.</p><p>	“Silence!” Loki exclaimed, not breaking eye contact with me. “Mother? You can explain… this?” He looked me up and down and then glanced at his mother. She smiled. </p><p>	“This,” she said, holding my arm, “Is Alonia’s child. The one born to her here, raised on Earth by her father. She came onto Heimdall’s radar after so many years.”	</p><p>	“I was helping Thor,” I tried to explain. I felt Frigga’s grip on me tighten.</p><p>	“Thor?” Loki’s eyes flashed with anger. He approached me until he was only inches away, looking down at me. He towered over me; he was well over six-feet. “Thor was banished.” He paused. After a moment, he said in a softer voice: “You look exactly like her. Mother, are you sure—?”</p><p>	“Yes,” Frigga replied. “You see, too.” He only nodded curtly after a short pause.</p><p>	I stared up at him, taking his unwavering gaze as a challenge. I hardened my own gaze and tilted my chin up more. He’s a little close… What’s his damage? Other than being devilishly handsome… Did I just think that? </p><p>	Loki smirked.</p><p>	“It appears you’re right,” he finally said. Frigga dropped her hands from my arm.</p><p>	“Oh?” I challenged. ‘How do you know she’s right?”</p><p>	“I just know.”</p><p>	“You’re the king, right?”</p><p>	“Yes, Lady Delilah. Yes. I am the king. The Allfather. Protector of—”</p><p>	“Okay, cool,” I interrupted. “So, you can bring Thor back?” Loki looked down into my eyes and furrowed his thick eyebrows. They were a perfectly sculptured feature on his perfect face. Seriously, Del, get a grip! He huffed and looked back at his mother as he took a few paces back to the steps up to the throne.</p><p>	“For the last time—I will not make my first act as king to undo my father’s last command!” he boomed. I glanced at Frigga. She already asked him to do this. Why couldn’t he just help his brother out? I sighed loudly and rolled my eyes.</p><p>	“Oh, please. What the hell is Thor even doing on Earth? He got hit by Jane’s van twice now, if there was a lesson he was supposed to learn, I think he got the hint. Why does he have to—”</p><p>	“He invaded our strongest enemies without the king’s permission, almost starting another war against the Frost Giants!” Loki spat, jogging back down the steps to get into my space again. I glared up at him, feeling angry. He seemed to be against everything his brother did. Was there a deeper reason than complete loyalty to his father and his duty as interim king?</p><p>	“There’s gotta be something you can do to help him! You’re the king!”</p><p>	“And you are naïve!”</p><p>	“Excuse me?” I scoffed, taking a step to him.</p><p>	“Excuse you!”</p><p>	“No, asshole, excuse you! I’m not naïve, I’m a fucking genius and all you’re doing is sitting here on your ass!” His face contorted in rage. Something in me doubted he’d ever been spoken to like that. I felt proud that I got to him. </p><p>	“Loki, Delilah,” Frigga said, sliding between us, hands raised. She glanced between us. “Please. Loki, is there a reason you called us here? A reason that you can explain calmly?” </p><p>	For a long moment, Loki looked down at me. His chest heaved up and down in his rage. The look in his eyes changed multiple times and too fast for me to see what he was feeling. Rage, confusion, sadness, and something else, something I couldn’t place, all crossed his bright and dazzling green eyes. My heart was pounding, and I could hear his slamming in his chest as well. Finally, he walked up to his throne and sat, hunched, in it. </p><p>	“I wanted to see for myself who it was that my mother snuck in. The rumors were that it was Lady Alonia, though I understand now.” Loki’s voice turned to ice. “I see now she is not. Half Midgardian, half Celestial.”</p><p>	“What?” I whispered. What the hell is a Celestial?</p><p>	“Yes,” Frigga replied, “And that makes her very power—”</p><p>	“Unstable,” Loki interrupted. “Apparently.” I gasped and glared at him. If I wasn’t certain those guards would run me through with their lances the second I made an attack move, I would summon energy and throw it into Loki, hopefully knocking him off his rude ass and blasting that damn throne. “I still don’t understand the Lady Alonia’s choice in a sexual partner.”</p><p>	My eyes widened at the mention of a sexual partner. Loki made eye contact with me and smirked. He noticed. Did he notice? No way. Wait a second—!</p><p>	“Excuse me? You’re gonna talk about—”</p><p>	“At least you turned out looking like your mother. Perhaps your attitude and contempt for authority come from your father, whatever poor excuse for a man he must be,” Loki continued. I scoffed and felt sparks fly from my hands. Loki’s eyes flicked down at them, then back into my eyes quickly. </p><p>	“You know what?” I said, laughing. “You’re right. I got that from my dad. but I got this from my mom.” And before I could stop myself or think analytically about what I was doing, I shot an energy blast into Loki. He was caught off guard and was flung out of the throne and behind it. His helmet flew to the ground with a clang. The guards aimed their weapons at me and ran to me, but I threw up a forcefield around Frigga and me.</p><p>	“Oh!” Frigga cried. “Well, there’s no need for that—”</p><p>	Loki jumped up, looking frazzled. </p><p>	“King or not, you can’t just say whatever you want to people!” I yelled at Loki. He straightened himself out and picked his helmet up. </p><p>	“Mother,” Loki said, suspiciously calm. He set the antlered helmet back on his head. “If you would escort Delilah to your chambers for the rest of the evening. She will be our guest tonight—”</p><p>	“Enough of this, Loki,” Frigga replied. She looked at me and cleared her throat. “Delilah, dear?”</p><p>	“Oh.” I let the forcefield disappear. Frigga sighed.</p><p>	“Loki, Delilah belongs in Midgard. She needs to go back—”</p><p>	“After attacking the Allfather, she ought to spend the rest of her life in the prisons—”</p><p>	“I don’t answer to you, Reindeer Games,” I sneered. </p><p>	“Send her back to Midgard…” he mused. “So, she can—” He stopped himself. I frowned. What was he about to say? The only thing I would do when I went back to my home planet would be help Thor; I made that abundantly clear. Another thing made clear: Loki didn’t want Thor to receive help.</p><p>	“Son,” Frigga said in a frustrated tone. </p><p>	“The Bifrost is closed, Mother. Lady Delilah will be our guest tonight.”</p><p>	“Oh, hell no!” I cried, looked wildly from Frigga to her son. “Someone better get me back to my own planet, pronto!”</p><p>	“Not tonight,” Loki replied, his voice full of poison. I looked at him harshly. Frigga cleared her throat and laced my arm in hers.</p><p>	“Dear, why don’t we go back to my quarters and get ready for dinner?” she suggested. Loki sat down in his throne and we headed out.</p><p>	“Oh, no,” I muttered. “Is this one of those things where if I eat the food here or get all comfy, I’ll get brainwashed into staying here?”</p><p>	“What?”</p><p>	“Never mind…” I sighed as we left.</p><p> </p><p>	Loki dismissed his personal guards and sat on the throne, legs up on the side, crossed. His hands were folded and his brow knit in contemplation.</p><p>	“Delilah.”</p><p>	He said her name, over and over again. No matter how many times he said it, it still sounded strange. He had heard her name before, years before, when she was born. He remembered holding a baby in his hands. He remembered how stiff he felt as he looked down at the pale baby that already resembled Alonia. After all, he only held the thing to be polite. He had always loved Alonia and didn’t want her to be mad that he didn’t want to hold it, so he picked it up and cradled it. It slept peacefully.</p><p>	“Delilah.”</p><p>	Even as her mother died, Delilah slept. Frigga was holding her best friend’s hand as the life and the essence slipped out of her, leaving her body to fade into brilliant shining particles that overtook Delilah. Only then did she cry. And cry and cry and cry. Loki cried, too. </p><p>	“Delilah.”</p><p>	Loki remembered Thor teaching the little blonde how to hold a small sword, even before she could say a single word. Delilah would run down the halls and shriek and laugh and bounce off the walls until Frigga would have to put a spell on her to make her fall asleep. Once, Loki walked into the little girl’s nursery as she fell from where she had been floating on the ceiling. He caught her, barely, and tucked her into bed. He then said goodbye to his mother as he accompanied Thor and Odin on a mission to the forests. </p><p>	“Delilah.”</p><p>	Loki was the first to say goodbye to Delilah as she was leaving to be taken to Earth to be with her father. Wards had been placed around her to keep her safe from Midgardians. They would want to use her for destruction, use her against her will. Loki and Thor begged their mother to allow Delilah to grow up in the palace. She could be a real princess, have a life that would mean something, but Frigga would not allow anyone to raise her but her father. </p><p>	“Delilah.”</p><p>	And now, she was insane. Inept, unable to control herself and her powers, completely void of manners or poise. Tainted and corrupted by the Midgardians. Alonia was definitely more graceful than her daughter, but that was probably because Delilah was half-Midgardian. And the power she contained. If only she knew how to wield it—she could be unstoppable. Together, they could be unstoppable. But she was limited. She was not fully a star like her mother; she was partly human. And that made her weak.</p><p>	Loki clenched his fists. </p><p>	Who are you to judge her because of her blood? Her parents? </p><p>	He shook his head. </p><p>	But she was… beautiful. The second he saw her, he knew she wasn’t Alonia. Alonia’s eyes were the same gray, but Delilah’s spoke differently to him. They had a fire in them that Alonia lacked. Delilah was strong-willed and strong-minded; Loki only read a few thoughts inside her head. </p><p>	Devilishly handsome.</p><p>	What a true statement. He was a devil. But she resembled an angel. Suddenly, Loki was filled with resentment toward himself, though he could not decipher where this feeling came from. He stood, walked down the steps, and bellowed throughout the hall.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Odin's Feast</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>A little bit of flirting, a little bit of insulting... It's gonna be a long and interesting night.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>I stepped out from behind the screen in the dainty green dress. I smoothed it out under me, and the fabric rippled all the way to the floor as if it were pure liquid. Frigga smiled and stood up to come near me. While the first dress I had on, the one that belonged to my mother, was simple and had less detail and design, this dress was full of intricate pieces. The dress seemed to shift as well, as to perfectly allow me to move in any direction or way I pleased. I wanted to jump into the air and take to the sky in it; I had a feeling it would float all around me without weighing me down.</p><p>	“What was wrong with the other dress?” I asked. Frigga sat me down in front of a mirror and conjured a brush from thin air. My jaw dropped.</p><p>	“This is an evening dress,” the queen responded as she started brushing my hair. “I admit it is a little more than one would typically wear to dinner, but tonight is a feast.”</p><p>	“What’s special about tonight?” I asked quickly. I was worried that Loki had been fast to outright celebrate his brother’s banishment. </p><p>	“Tonight, we honor the Allfather and pray for him to return from the Odinsleep.”</p><p>	I just nodded, relieved that Loki wasn’t as cruel as I thought. There was something about him that felt intriguing. I couldn’t deny I felt drawn to him—even more drawn to him than others I saw in the dreams of my mother’s memories. </p><p>	“Is there nothing we can do? How am I going to get back to Earth?” </p><p>	“Entertain him for the evening. Early morning, we will help you escape. I have a plan in place, but—” Frigga paused, thinking for a moment— “It relies on you gaining his trust that you will not escape.”</p><p>	“Sure, I can do that. I just gotta get through this dinner—”</p><p>	“A feast on Asgard is… more like a party. Lasting dusk to after midnight, we enjoy drinking, singing, dancing—”</p><p>	“Oh, Jesus,” I muttered. “I feel like Thor is on a tight schedule right now. Besides, the feds are on our asses—”</p><p>	“The feds?” She began braiding the front of my hair around my head, like a tiara.</p><p>	I groaned and threw out sparks from my hands. “Shit. SHIELD. I’ve been meaning to get to the bottom of that, too. The feds are, like… it’s slang for super important law keepers. And—and SHIELD is after your son and I still don’t know if they’re the catch-aliens-and-experiment-on-them kinda guys, or the kill-aliens-on-site kinda guys.” Frigga just blinked and combed through a section of my hair. </p><p>	“You talk very fast. Is that a common Midgardian trait?”</p><p>	“It’s a New York thing,” I said, shrugging. I sighed. She was deflecting. No matter how bad she wanted Thor back, she truly believed Thor had to earn his way back. It was a noble thought; it was much more noble than Loki’s most likely reasoning. </p><p>	“New York! Your mother spoke of New York. That is where she fell in love with your father.” Frigga set her hands on my shoulders and I looked up at her. </p><p>	“What else can you tell me?” I asked. She sighed and looked down.</p><p>	“It is not my place to tell.”</p><p>	“Right. Of course not. I—sorry, I just mean—”</p><p>	“It’s alright.” She patted my shoulders. I looked down as she continued to fix my hair. Suddenly, I realized something. I looked up at Frigga.</p><p>“Today was the first time I had ever heard her name,” I told her. Frigga paused. “I was so used to never hearing her name—my dad would never tell me—that I just eventually came to accept that… she didn’t have a name.” </p><p>Frigga just smiled and nodded encouragingly. “She had a beautiful name. She was a beautiful woman, just like you.” She nodded and tucked the last bit of pale blonde hair away. I looked at myself, with my hair braided at the front of my head like my own royal headdress, and my gray eyes shining as they reflected the unnecessary amounts of gold in the room. “Now come along. You’ll be sitting with me tonight. Usually the family dines alone, but this feast is open to the people. For support for my husband.”</p><p>	I nodded and followed her out. We walked through the palace silently, but as the distant music and voices grew closer and we approached the banquet hall, she pulled me aside to the wall and held my hands.<br/>	“You remember what I asked of you.”</p><p>	“Yes. Get Loki to trust me that I won’t leave tonight.”</p><p>	“Good. Then leave this to me.” She held up a small vial. Then, as my eyes widened, she added, “It is merely a strong sleeping potion. There will be much dancing tonight, and while I do not expect Loki to participate in that aspect, I do believe he will drink.”</p><p>	“Okay, I get your son to trust me, and you poison him. Sounds great.”</p><p>	“Sleep potion. But yes.” </p><p>	She guided me through the room, towards a raised table above the others and the dance floor where Asgardians were already twirling around and laughing with each other. I looked around the room as people drank, ate, laughed, and talked with each other. A few men would punch each other playfully or reenact battle scenes. My eyes landed up at the table, the large, ornate table with four golden seats at it on one side to overlook the room. </p><p>I stared at Loki, who was surveying the room. He was reclined back in the chair, his legs spread loosely apart. I stared at his horned helmet, his green and black armor with the gold threading and detail, and his hands. One was rested on his chin, the other on the table. I felt an urge to press my hand against his, to see how well they fit together, because sweet Lord, he’s sexy!</p><p>	Our eyes met and I gasped. He laughed. I could hear it from across the room. It was a low laugh, but I still heard it. I looked away quickly and up at Frigga. </p><p>	“So…” I said, “Your king goes into a magical coma and you guys celebrate?”</p><p>	“We’re not celebrating, dear, we’re toasting.”</p><p>	“Oh.” I watched as Loki stood and began walking down from the table to meet us.</p><p>	“Rejoicing for our Allfather as he gains back strengths we could never dare dream to behold,” Frigga continued, opening her arms for her son. </p><p>	“I think some of you could,” I mumbled as she hugged Loki and kissed him on the cheek. </p><p>	“Mother,” Loki said, bending to receive her hug and kiss. He turned to me and held his hand out. “Lady Delilah.” Frigga nudged me. I slowly raised my left hand to put in his. He kissed it and turned to his mother. “Mother, may I have a word with Lady Delilah of the Sun Constellations?”</p><p>	“Of course, dear, I’ll take my seat.” Frigga patted my back and walked up to sit at the table. I gulped.</p><p>	“I’m, um, you know, not really from the Sun Constellations, so you don’t really have to… do… that.”</p><p>	“I apologize,” Loki said, putting his hands behind his back. “It was your mother’s title, I assumed that you would—”</p><p>	“I don’t really have a title, though.” I laughed. “It’s not really a thing on Midgard.”</p><p>	“Of course,” Loki said with a nod. “I shall just call you Lady Delilah.”</p><p>	“Okay, you really don’t have to—”</p><p>	“Lady Delilah, we got off on the wrong foot this morning, and I would like to apologize for that as well. I sincerely hope I did not offend you.”</p><p>	My jaw dropped. He apologized. To me. I shook my head and scoffed. “Well, actually, you did, like, a lot, but—” Frigga’s task for me rang through my head: get him to trust you! “—It’s not really a big deal, I guess.” But it was a big deal. Why did this man get to decide where I fell on the hierarchy of species? Who even got to decide there was a hierarchy of species? It was all ridiculous. </p><p>	“I enjoy you, Lady Delilah. You have a free spirit.”</p><p>	I laughed. “You don’t seem like the type to encourage ‘free spirits.’” </p><p>	“I’m not. Trust me.”</p><p>	“I don’t.” </p><p>	His eyes flashed and I took a step back. </p><p>	“Um, anyway. I am starving, is there any way I get to eat at this feast thing?” </p><p>	“If it is food you want, it is food you shall have.” He offered his hand again and I begrudgingly took it. He led me up to the table and pulled out a seat for me. Of the four seats, Frigga sat in the left middle. Loki was pulling out the far right one for me, and I had already seen him sitting in the left right. The biggest one. </p><p>	“This is Thor’s seat, isn’t it?” I paused and looked up at him. We were standing close to each other. His face fell, but he regained it quickly. If I wasn’t me, I probably wouldn’t have noticed. </p><p>	“How did you know that?”</p><p>	“I can feel it… You’re sitting in Odin’s seat.” I sat down, but he still gripped my chair with white knuckles. </p><p>	“The king’s seat,” he said through gritted teeth. </p><p>	“Right, yeah, sit down before you have an aneurysm.” To my surprise, he sat down wordlessly. There was a goblet in front of him, golden with colorful jewels encrusted in it. My eyes flicked to Frigga, then away. All movement in the room stopped and people turned up to the table. They lifted their own cups, and so did Frigga, so I followed as well with my own goblet. </p><p>	‘To my father,” Loki said, then in a strained voice, “Odin. May he rest and return. To his good health, to the prosperity of Asgard!”</p><p>	“Here, here!” the people echoed around, tapping cups with each other and cheering. The drinking, dancing, and eating resumed the second Loki sat back down. Loki sipped from his cup and set it down. He leaned back.</p><p>	“Is there something wrong?” I asked. </p><p>	“Wrong?” Loki replied, turning to me. </p><p>	“Yeah, you—you said that toast kinda funny, like you—” I laughed “—Like Odin’s not your father or something—”</p><p>	“Enough of this,” he said quickly, eyes searching the table. “I would rather talk of you.”</p><p>	“Me?” I asked, shocked. He did not seem like the kind of person who would want to quickly change the conversation from themselves to someone else. Unless he was hiding something. </p><p>	“Your mother is of the Sun Constellations, yet your father is of Midgard. Who is he?”</p><p>	Who is he? If only I even knew. That insane man surprised me every day; I just never knew if it would be a good or horrible surprise. “Um, well, he’s actually super famous on Earth—”</p><p>	“Hmm,” Loki mused, tapping a long finger on the table. “I was always shocked your mother chose a mortal. A Midgardian, for that matter, a mortal with such a short life span.”</p><p>	“She was in love.”</p><p>	“Indeed.”</p><p>	I scoffed and turned to my plate. I had been starving all day, and I had no idea what was on this plate, but it smelled amazing. I dug in. </p><p>“This is really good food,” I said, glancing at Loki. He nodded as he ate as well.</p><p>“This is Asgard. All of our food is delicious.” I nodded and kept eating. “It is not the only thing that is delicious tonight.” I glanced around, confused by that. I looked at him, looking at me. Something about his gaze had changed. It resembled the look Lazlo Kuragin had every time he asked me a school dance. But something about Loki’s gaze was so much more intense. I wanted to drink it, savor it, but I realized exactly what that face meant. I cleared my throat and turned away to keep eating. It didn’t take long for Loki to open his mouth again, though. I wondered, was he actually curious about me? Or were there other reasons for his questions?</p><p>	“Midgard, do you like it?”	</p><p>	“Um…” I looked around awkwardly. Were these genuine questions? Or a tactic of some kind? Don’t forget the mission! Drug this sucker! I reminded myself. I sighed. “I mean, it’s the only planet I’ve ever been on. Up ‘til now. but this place is… a lot grander than anything on Midgard. I mean, this place makes the Plaza look like a Red Roof Inn.” I looked at Loki, who was slightly confused. </p><p>	“I would have thought you lived like a god there.”	</p><p>	Now, I was confused. I laughed and turned to him. “A god? No—I mean, my dad owns a huge company, so, we’re rich, but not live-in-a-palace-made-of-pure-gold rich! Why…” I laughed a little more. “Why would you think I lived like a god?”</p><p>	“You are part Celestial. You are a, albeit half, superior being.”</p><p>	“Oh, God, no. No one on Earth knows. If they found out I could do… this…” I summoned a soft glow of energy into my hand, then crushed it into sparks, “I would be on a lab table, getting brain scans and being dissected.” Loki’s eyes turned wide with horror. </p><p>	“They will be warned not to—”</p><p>	“And, knock it off with the ‘superior’ stuff! I live on Earth like everyone else—well, kind of. Not really. Anyway—I’m just a normal person to everyone there, and I like it that way. The things you can do here, it would be considered completely impossible on Earth. I should be impossible. But… but no one is superior over someone else in my book, no matter what race or species they are!”</p><p>	“You have superior abilities. A superior lifespan, mind, body.” My ears and cheeks burned, but I reminded myself he probably only said that out of objective observations about Earth. “Someone of a higher composition should rule them.”</p><p>	An image flashed in my head: I was on a throne, and long pale hands rested on my shoulders as older, darker hands placed a silver crown that shimmered on my head. I looked up and Loki was behind me; it was his hands on my shoulders. I pulled away and found myself back in the Asgardian banquet hall. I glared at Loki. </p><p>	“Loki.”</p><p>	“Yes, my lady?”</p><p>	“Can you read my mind?”</p><p>	“Sometimes. Images are easy to conjure in someone’s mind as well.”</p><p>	I gulped and looked away. I felt shaken. I was way out of my depths here, I knew that. “The Midgardians rule over themselves,” I said in a resigned voice. </p><p>	“Is that wise?”</p><p>	“Better than having a psycho alien ruling.”</p><p>	“That would be bad.”</p><p>	I looked at him in disbelief, then scoffed and turned back to my food. The plate seemed to have refilled itself. I sighed in relief and ate some more bread. I hadn’t eaten anything at all today—I don’t think I even ate at the diner. Pepper and I were going to grab food on the way to the Expo last night, but she wanted to try more food there instead of eating before. I tried to convince her to eat before—I knew she wouldn’t get a chance to eat at the Expo—, but she was insistent. So, I was starving. </p><p>	But I paused. I had just eaten a huge plate food and was working on a second. I didn’t even know what this food was. I didn’t want Loki to think I was a pig—</p><p>	Wait. </p><p>	Why did it matter what Loki thought? I glanced over but found his seat empty. Frigga was conversing with a couple servants carrying pitchers. Now would be a perfect time for her to drop that potion in Loki’s drink. </p><p>	“Lady Delilah?” I heard from my right. I jumped and looked up. Loki was standing beside the table, his hand out. </p><p>	“Would you like to dance?”</p><p>	“Um… I would rather not. I just ate a whole—what do you call these things—?” I gasped as he took my hand and stood me up, then led me down to the floor. My eyes were frozen on our hands. His completely enveloped mine. My mouth opened, but he placed me in front of him and placed my other hand on his shoulder. His arm wrapped around my waist. I was suddenly aware of a dull thud coming from somewhere in the room, and I glanced around, looking for it. Had it been there the whole time?</p><p>	“You do know how to dance, don’t you?” he asked.</p><p>	“You do know what ‘no’ means, don’t you?” I snapped. I paused. Get him to trust you! You total moron. I sighed. “Yes, I know how to dance. I used to dance a lot when I was a kid, actually. I was really good.”</p><p>	“I believe I owe you an apology.”</p><p>	“Really? Two in one night?” I felt like I was almost teasing him. The thudding sound I heard continued, and it was getting louder. Maybe someone in the band was off. Well, that was embarrassing. </p><p>	“I saw you, and while you are as every bit magnificent as your mother, I discredited your grace and beauty because of your halfling status,” he said plainly as we danced around the others. 	</p><p>	“Halfling,” I muttered. Then, my cheeks grew warm and I laughed. “You think I’m—”</p><p>	“However, I have looked past that, seeing as how we are often…” His eyes darted away. “Not always as we appear, even to ourselves. I apologize for my offense.” He gritted his teeth, and I felt his grip tighten.</p><p>	“Okay, well, thanks, um… I guess.”</p><p>	“Was my apology not sufficient?”</p><p>	“No, it was fine, I think, but, well—I mean, you did call me beautiful and magnificent, but also super insulted me and the people I’ve grown up around my whole life on Earth. Not to mention limiting what you underestimated in me and finding my worth in my physical appearance when I am kind of a genius, so—” I clamped my jaw shut. I shuddered. “Yeah.”</p><p>	“Yes, well… Well said.”</p><p>	I rolled my eyes. “You have no idea what I just said.” </p><p>	I was suddenly aware that now, our bodies were touching as we danced. We had moved closer and closer as we danced around to the soothing Asgardian music. I had to strain my neck to look up at him, and his neck was bent to where his jaw almost hit his throat. As we danced, I could almost feel the rhythmic beat that I was hearing in my head. Butterflies flew in my stomach. </p><p> </p><p>	She danced gracefully, and Loki did not doubt that she was, at some point, a trained dancer. She was so short as well—he did not remember her mother being that short. Then again, he was younger and smaller when Alonia was alive. </p><p>	Delilah also did not miss a beat. It was easy to stun her, however, but her mind seemed to be sharp for the most part. And her thoughts—her thoughts ran fast through her head, so that if Loki did try to see a thought, it was fleeting. She was hard to read in more ways than one. For instance, Loki could feel how strongly her heart beat, but her face showed nothing but worry and caution.</p><p>	Sexy, she called him in her mind. </p><p>	And—she was planning something. Loki’s mother was involved, no doubt trying to get this girl back to Midgard in order to save Thor. But Loki could not have that happen. He would be king. This small, blonde, beautiful, mysterious, hilarious, unique, dazzling, angelic star would not get in his way, no matter how distracted he became when he looked into her eyes. Loki pulled away from her suddenly, after a few minutes of dancing without talking. She looked up at him, her gray eyes portraying confusion. </p><p>	“That’s enough dancing,” Loki muttered.</p><p>	“Loki—” she tried to say, but he yanked his arm out of her grasp. </p><p>	“That is enough. The feast is over!” Loki boomed throughout the hall. The music stopped; people looked around at each other. The queen stood up at the table. “Out of the palace. NOW!” People began scurrying around, trying to leave. Loki looked down at Delilah.</p><p>	“Loki, what are you—?” Frigga asked as she hurried to Loki and Delilah. “Lady Delilah, are you alright?”</p><p>	“I’m fine, Frigga,” Delilah replied.</p><p>	“Loki, just drink a little, you’ll feel better,” Frigga tried to say. Loki scowled. </p><p>	“So that you may drop another sleeping potion into it? Hardly.”</p><p>	Frigga’s eyes widened and she pulled Delilah into her. She cleared her throat. “I am worried about you, my son. I want you to rest.”</p><p>	“You want me out of the way to smuggle her out of the palace.”</p><p>	Frigga only sighed. Delilah’s eyes widened, but her look quickly turned to a glare directed at Loki. She only wanted to get back to her planet. What was so wrong about that?</p><p>	“I hope you’ll get a good night’s sleep nevertheless, Loki,” Frigga said, walking to him. she kissed his cheek and rested it in her hand. “You seem very back and forth today.”</p><p>	“Goodnight, Mother,” Loki said stiffly. Frigga began leading Delilah past Loki, but his arm shot out and pulled Delilah to him. She gasped and tried to pull away, but Loki’s grasp was impossible to escape. “Goodnight, Lady Delilah.” He kissed her hand.</p><p>	Sparks flew off of it. He pulled back and she jumped away. She wiped her hand on her dress and stared at it. Motherfucker! It was a loud thought in her head that interrupted all the others running around. Loki pressed his lips together in order to not laugh. She was amusing. </p><p>	Frigga took her hand and they hurried out of the hall.</p>
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<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Escape From Asgard</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>I was woken up by a woman in armor. Her long black hair was pulled back into an elaborate braided ponytail and she had a sword in hand. Our eyes met and I stared into her blue and gold eyes. They were studying me intently, as if she were unsure what I was. I almost screamed, but I heard Frigga’s voice.</p><p>	“Sif!” Frigga hissed, pulling the woman away from me. I sat up in the bed I was in in Frigga’s chambers. She had conjured it last night, and I asked for her to show me, but she said, “maybe one day.” I couldn’t help but feel like I would never see her again, so that one day would never come. Frigga sighed and came to me. “Sif and the Warriors Three are leaving with you.”</p><p>	“The… what?” I managed to get out. The woman, Sif, looked down at me with a curious look in her eyes. Frigga gathered a bundle of fabric in her arms and handed it to me. </p><p>	“Here is a cloak—it will help conceal you and your Midgardian clothes.” She and Sif looked down at my clothes, the leggings and Stark sweatshirt I had on earlier, and they shared a look of confusion. I nodded, took the cloak, and bent down. I tied my sneakers tighter, then pulled the cloak around me. </p><p>	“How are we getting out?” </p><p>	“We’ll figure that out,” Sif replied, nodding to Frigga.</p><p>	I gasped. “You don’t even have a plan—?”</p><p>	“No, but we also do not have time! We must make haste!”</p><p>	I nodded, and Frigga took my face in her hands. She smiled, and I saw tears forming in her eyes. </p><p>	“Frigga—”</p><p>	“We will meet again, daughter of Alonia. I know we will.” She kissed my forehead and hugged me. I hugged her back, tight, wanting to hold on to the last bit of my mother I had for as long as possible. But Sif grabbed my arm, and we ran out of the room. </p><p>	I was exhausted. I hadn’t slept at all the night before, and I had only slept a handful of hours before Sif woke me up with her sword. I felt my powers were exhausted, as well. Now, running through the palace, I felt like passing out. </p><p>	“Where are we going?” I whispered.</p><p>	“To my brothers,” she replied as we pressed ourselves up against a corner. Guards passed us. We continued running. “The Warriors Three and I are Thor’s most trusted friends. Since Loki took the throne, he has done nothing but betray Thor—and Asgard.” We ran up to a large door that she pushed aside and slipped through. I followed and shut the door carefully.</p><p>	“Don’t you care?” a male voice shouted. I turned around as there was a crash. Two men stood facing each other. Another was running toward them, and Sif approached them quickly as well.</p><p>	“Do not mistake my appetite for apathy!” a redheaded and bearded man shouted back. </p><p>	“Stop it, both of you!” Sif commanded as she and the other man turned the two men from each other. “Stop. We all know what we have to do!” </p><p>	“We must go,” the man who pulled the redheaded man away said. His voice was deep. Everyone turned to him. “We must find Thor.”</p><p>	“Finding him isn’t the problem,” I spoke up, approaching them. The men turned to me with wide eyes. The blonde one, the first voice I heard, put his hand to his sheath, but Sif stopped him. </p><p>	“Warriors,” she said, “This is Delilah Stark of Midgard. Lady Alonia’s daughter.”</p><p>	“Lady Alonia…” the blonde man said. </p><p>	“A pleasure,” the large redheaded man said. He took my hand, bowed, and kissed it. “Volstagg the Valiant.” </p><p>	“My lady,” the man with the deep voice greeted me. He did the same as Volstagg. “I am Hogun.”</p><p>	“Fandral,” the blonde man spoke up, pulling me away from the others. He dipped me and winked. “I am completely at your service.” I laughed and pulled away.  </p><p>	“I need to get back to Earth, and Thor needs to get back here. Can you get us out?”</p><p>	“It’s treason,” Fandral muttered. </p><p>	“To hell with treason, it’s suicide!” Volstagg turned to Fandral and they glared at each other.</p><p>	“Thor would do the same for us,” Sif said. She turned to her companions, a determine look on her face. Volstagg just sighed.</p><p>	“Now shush. Heimdall might be watching.”</p><p>	I opened my mouth, but the doors behind me opened on their own. The warriors stepped in front of me, and I looked around at all of them. They were all brave and determined. And they loved Thor. They would do anything to save him, so I just had to convince them—</p><p>	“Heimdall demands your presence,” a guard said at the entrance. He then left abruptly. We stared at each other.</p><p>	“We’re doomed,” Volstagg said. </p><p>	“We need to get moving!” I cried, walking toward the door. </p><p>	“Wait,” Hogun called. I turned back to them. “The king is unaware of your presence outside of his mother’s chambers. We must keep you hidden. There is a secret passageway out of the castle that Lady Sif can take you through, but we must get to it without being seen.”</p><p>	“Okay. Fair enough. Lead me to this secret passage.”</p><p>	I followed the warriors out of the room into the vast hallways. Every clang seemed to echo, so I was thankful that I had no weapons on me. No weapons, at least, that made noise. I held a dagger of pure energy in my hand as I followed them. We stopped at every corner for Fandral to check for guards before sprinting through another hallway. The hallway from my mother’s memory was bathed in moonlight. The grassy court was also lit up, and it was beautiful. A small pond twinkled in the moonlight, and small slivery and goldfish leapt out of it. We walked around the court, careful to stay out of the light. Guards were on the story above, keeping watch. </p><p>	“Here,” Fandral said as we entered another wing. This one was colder and had lower ceilings than the others. It felt older, more protected and cut off from the rest of the castle.</p><p>	“This passageway?” Volstagg hissed through his teeth. He grabbed Hogun and Fandral by the fronts of their armor and held them up. “Right through Loki’s quarters?” My eyes widened. My heart began to beat faster. </p><p>	“Enough!” Sif whispered forcefully as she pulled the two away from the large Volstagg. “We must be quick!” Everyone silently agreed, and we took off down the hall. As I ran, the cloak Frigga had given me blew behind me. It was enchanted, just like my dress at the feast, to make it impossible for me to trip over it. That was a nice touch, and I already had ideas on how to recreate the effect once I got back home. With every step I took, the dull thudding I heard at the party returned. It got louder and louder, and I was about to ask if anyone else could hear it when Fandral checked around a corner. He slammed back into the wall, eyes wide and mouth open.</p><p>	“What is it?”</p><p>	“Loki,” he whispered. “He’s guarding the door.”</p><p>	“Shit,” I hissed. Sif covered her face with her hands.</p><p>	“What do we do?”</p><p>	“Let me go,” I said. Everyone turned to me, shocked. “You have orders from Heimdall. I’m just a stowaway. I’ll meet you at Heimdall’s once I’ve—”</p><p>	“Once you’ve what? Defeated Loki?” Fandral hissed.</p><p>	“No, once I’ve distracted him enough for you to get out of the palace. I’m not really planning on winning. Besides, I just want one good hit at the fucker. And I can fly, so I’ll be able to get away.”</p><p>	The warriors looked between them, making faces and moving their eyes and eyebrows. I just stood there, arms crossed, waiting for their facial conversation to end. </p><p>	“Alright,” Sif whispered. “Only because we know the power you possess. But you must be careful. Loki is powerful as well. And older, and—”</p><p>	“Oh, trust me. I’m always careful. Now go!” They pushed past me, and I peeked around the corner. Loki was pacing the width of the hallway lazily. Behind him was a wall, but I saw no door. Man, secret passageways were the best. I pulled the hood of my cloak up over my head and walked out into the hall. Loki glanced over. The thud got louder and louder, but I heard Loki’s voice clearly over the pounding. </p><p>	“Ah,” he said, turning to me. “There you are.”</p><p> </p><p>	A small, cloaked figure stood in front of Loki, holding a small glowing knife in her hand. Her appearance was hidden from the god, but he knew who she was. And he knew she knew he knew. </p><p>	“Little Delilah,” he said, walking toward her at a leisurely pace. He cracked a smirk. “You dare defy my orders—the king’s orders?” </p><p>	She scoffed. Loki hesitated on one step, unprepared for that simple response. He opened his mouth to speak again, but she spoke up first.</p><p>	“You’re not my king, Loki. You’re barely these people’s king.” Anger rose inside Loki and he felt a mixture of cold and heat radiating inside him. He clenched his jaw. “You’re only on the throne because Asgard needs some semblance of a leader. You’re not their real king. You’ll never be their king.”</p><p>	“One day,” Loki replied. “I will be.”</p><p>	Delilah pushed the hood of her cloak down. Her pale blonde hair tumbled across her shoulders and down her back. Her gray eyes pierced his own green ones. They stood in silence for a moment, observing each other. </p><p> </p><p>	I stared into Loki’s terrifying and striking green eyes. I had never seen a green so intense. Staring into his eyes, I saw something beyond the man I had first encountered. I don’t know how long we stood there, staring at each other in silence, but I know that I learned two things about Loki.</p><p>	Number one: He wasn’t going to make the first move. He was waiting for me. Something was stopping him from attacking me. </p><p>	Number two: There was something behind those eyes other than his hard exterior. Something inside him was screaming with want. He wanted to be held, he wanted to let go of this, he wanted someone to tell him everything was going to be okay. Everything he said to me, he truly regretted it. But he wouldn’t say it. He would not drop his guard or show any kind of authenticity. It was only in his eyes that I could see that, and it made me dizzy from intensity. </p><p>	I gasped and pulled away. I did not realize it, but Loki and I had come closer. Instead of being a corridor away, I was tilting my head up to look at him. I could hear him breathing. I could hear his heartbeat. The dull thudding. It was him all the time. This man was a mystery… </p><p>	“How did you do that?” he whispered.</p><p>	“How did I do what?” I asked, also whispering. It was like we were afraid of being overheard in an empty hallway.</p><p>	“See into my mind,” he replied, searching my face with his eyes. He narrowed them and tilted back.</p><p>	“I—I didn’t mean to—” </p><p>	“How did you do that?” he repeated himself, louder, backing into an attack stance and drawing a dagger. I leaped back and did the same, turning my knife into a spear. </p><p>	“I didn’t!” I cried. I shook my head. “I didn’t do anything! I didn’t mean to—”</p><p>	“You will not return to Midgard as long as I am king of Asgard.” Loki threw the dagger straight at me. I gasped and threw up an energy shield that dissolved his ornate weapon. Though, I doubted it was really an ancient Asgardian weapon rather than something he had conjured. I didn’t feel bad. I also didn’t feel bad about turning the energy shield into small diamond-shaped points and shoving them at Loki. </p><p>	He shielded himself with his armor, but a few still sliced at him. One even sliced right at his cheek bone. I stopped. He paused and raised a hand to his cheek, smearing the blood with his finger. He looked at it and raised his chin. I heard a small “hmm” come from him. </p><p>	My chest was heaving as he looked at me. Instead of attacking me back, he waved his hand, and I froze. I was actually stuck. I could not move. I tried and tried. </p><p>	“Loki! Let me out of your freaky Norse voodoo shit right now!” I screamed. He approached me slowly. He stood over me, eyes narrow. He was thinking about something, but before I could figure out what it was, I felt thoughts being pulled from the back of my mind to the forefront. I gasped. As the thoughts came, the words came spilling out of Loki’s mouth as we stared into each other’s eyes, completely locked down.</p><p>	“You feel insignificant. Completely overlooked by your father and others. You’ve sworn that if your father does not attend one more event for you, you’ll be completely finished with him. You feel… completely alone in the universe. There is no one who could ever understand you, no matter how badly you want it. No—” He pulled away suddenly and we both dropped to the ground, him on all fours, me into a crouched position. He flipped his head up and stared at me. </p><p>	I shook my head. “You don’t know me. You don’t know what I want.” I threw a hand out to Loki and sent an energy blast into him which knocked him into the wall across from me. He crumpled to the ground and I ran. At the end of the hall, I paused to look back at him, crouched on the ground. The thudding got quieter and finally stopped as I shot out into a courtyard and into the air towards the rainbow bridge, trying not to cry. </p><p>	I landed in the observatory and walked inside, where the Warriors Three stood in a line facing Heimdall on his dais. The man, golden eyes dark, looked down on us. I joined the warriors, who gave me thankful and encouraging smiles. </p><p>	“You would defy the commands of Loki, our king, break every oath you have taken as warriors, and commit treason to bring Thor back and to return Delilah?”</p><p>	“Yes,” Sif said without a moment’s hesitation. </p><p>	“Good,” Heimdall replied, without any pause of his own. He walked down past us.</p><p>	“So, you’ll help us?”</p><p>	“I am bound by honor to our king,” Heimdall said, “I cannot open the bridge to you.” We watched him leave the golden spherical room and begin the walk back to Asgard. My jaw dropped. All that work, for what?</p><p>	“Complicated fellow, isn’t he?” Fandral remarked, glancing at us. I frowned and turned around to the dais, where the sword Heimdall carried was still sheathed into the golden contraption. </p><p>	“Now what do we do?” Volstagg cried. The sword sparked.</p><p>	“Uh, guys?” I said, motioning to the sword. It glowed and lightning cast around the room. We gathered around it, and Sif turned the sword, summoning the Bifrost. “Oh, here we go again.” </p><p>	“Come!” Fandral shouted. We ran for the Bifrost and they jumped in. I hesitated and braced myself.</p><p>	“Earth, here I come!” I shouted as I jumped in.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. The Destroyer</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>I landed with a gasp, on my feet this time, in the middle of the desert. The Warriors and Sif were around me, helping each other up and looking around at the scenery. I looked down at the strange markings on the ground, caused by our landing. Quickly, I pulled my mask out and secured it in headband mode.</p><p>	“Jarvis!” I screamed. “Jarvis!” </p><p>	“Here, Delilah. You have eighteen missed calls from your father—”</p><p>	“Cool, great, tell that nerd I’m back on Earth, so I’m fine—actually, don’t tell him that, that will freak him out, just hold on and record this!”</p><p>	“The markings seem to line up with the markings from the crater created by Thor in his landing.”</p><p>	“Send them to Jane. Tell her I’m back.” I glanced back at the Warriors Three and Lady Sif. “And I brought company.”</p><p>	“I am also recording massive energy levels similar to those recorded earlier at Thor’s arrival and your disappearance.”</p><p>	“I know,” I said, looking down at my hands. They sparked with electricity. “I can feel it.”</p><p>	“Where are we?” Sif asked, squinting into the sun. I furrowed my eyebrows.</p><p>	“Sif. Don’t do that.”</p><p>	“What is wrong, my lady?” Sif asked, looking back at me. She blinked a couple times and held her hands out. “Where did you go?”</p><p>	“Jesus, guys, it’s the sun, don’t look directly at it.” I rolled my eyes. I shifted into my suit and pulled the mask down to cover my hair and eyes, glancing at everyone to give Jarvis a physical profile on my new friends. “Come on.”</p><p>	We walked into town, passing a few confused people on the outskirts. I glanced back and forth around the streets, noticing people taking their kids inside and almost running away from us. I couldn’t blame them, especially not when I caught a glance of the giant swords and axes the Warriors carried.</p><p>	A voice came from somewhere up above us:</p><p>	“Is there a renaissance fair in town?”</p><p>	“Call it in.”</p><p>	“Base, we got, uh, Xena, Jackie Chan, and Robin Hood. And, um… You won’t believe this, but… someone matching the description of War Machine and Iron Man’s accomplice from the other night.”</p><p>	I looked up and around and spotted two men in suits on a roof. I shook my head and rejoined the Warriors. </p><p>	“SHIELD…”</p><p>	“I do not have one. Will you be needing one?” Fandral offered. I laughed.</p><p>	“No, Fandral. That’s okay,” I replied, grinning. We walked into the main part of the smallest town on Earth, and I led my new comrades to the warehouse where the scientists and Thor hopefully were. </p><p>	“This is where the prince is?” Sif asked, looking up and around the dingy building. I sighed.</p><p>	“Yeah. Trust me, I would have preferred him be dropped in the Bahamas as much as the next guy, but…” The three men ran to the glass doors at the side and began pounding on the door.</p><p>	“FOUND YOU!” Volstagg shouted. Sif and I joined them at the windowed doors, grinning. I was so relieved to see Thor again. He stood at the stove, in a plaid shirt too tight for him. Darcy, Jane, and Erik stood around a ping-pong table with folding chairs around it, shocked. Their mugs of coffee fell to the floor.</p><p>	We burst through the doors and Thor grinned and ran to us, enveloping Volstagg in a hug. I just grinned at the others and waved. Darcy gave a half-assed shocked wave back. </p><p>	“This is good! This is good!” Volstagg cheered.</p><p>	“I don’t believe it,” Erik muttered. Thor hugged the others, then turned to me. </p><p>	“I am so glad you have returned safely,” he said, clapping me on the shoulders. He pulled me into a hug, and I grinned. </p><p>	“Oh, excuse me,” Volstagg said, turning to the Earthlings. “Lady Sif and the Warriors Three.”</p><p>	“My friends,” Thor said, holding Hogun by the shoulder. “I’ve never been happier to see anyone. But you should not have come.” The Asgardians looked around at each other, shocked and confused. Sif furrowed her eyebrows at her prince.</p><p>	“We’re here to take you home!” Fandral announced.</p><p>	Thor’s face fell. “You know I can’t go home. My father is… is dead because of me. And I must remain in exile.” My eyes widened. </p><p>	“Wait, what?” I cried. Sif and I shared a look, and she shook her head slightly.</p><p>	“Thor,” she said, “Your father still lives.”</p><p>	Thor’s face changed, suddenly, to complete and utter rage. I suddenly saw another vision in my head: Thor, trapped inside a massive array of tarps and steel beams. SHIELD. Loki appeared to Thor. Then, all I heard was Thor’s screams of agony and hurt in my head. I gasped and looked at Thor.</p><p>	“Loki,” I said to him. “Loki told you your father had died—whoa—” I stumbled, and Thor caught me. I looked around.</p><p>	“Levels increasing out in the desert,” Jarvis said. I stood up.</p><p>	“Yeah, dude, I got that…” We all went to the doors and walked outside. Outside the town, SHIELD cars were parked around a giant spinning vortex of color and sand. I gasped. They were too far away for the others to see, but I was able to make out what was happening. </p><p>	“Was somebody else coming?”</p><p>	“Levels increasing… Almost three-point-five times more,” Jarvis relayed. My jaw dropped. </p><p>“I think I know those guys down there,” I said to everyone. I’m going to go help them—”</p><p>	“My lady!” Fandral cried, grabbing my arm, “It is dangerous, you are not safe—”</p><p>	“Get a grip, dude!” I replied. I looked at Thor. </p><p>	“It’s Loki’s fault, isn’t it?”</p><p>	He gave me a grave nod. I nodded back and shot out the door. I flew to the cars and the agents turned around, looking from me to the machine. It was taller than any man, at least ten feet tall, and was completely made out of metal. </p><p>	“Oh, come on, enough of this!” a familiar man, Agent Coulson, said as he turned to me. “Who the hell are you? I have enough—”</p><p>	I ripped the mask off my head, letting my hair fall around me as I walked up to him. He gave me a confused look, then nodded.</p><p>	“Stark.”</p><p>	“Coulson.”</p><p>	“Is that one of Stark’s?” an agent asked, looking up at the thing.</p><p>	 “I don’t know. The guy never tells me anything. Neither does his kid, apparently.” Coulson gave me a look and grabbed a megaphone and walked toward the towering machine. “Hello! You are using unregistered weapons technology. Identify yourself.” </p><p>	The machine stopped walking toward us. I heard whirring and something powering up. </p><p>	“Here we go,” Coulson groaned. The face of the machine opened, and I saw fire building up within it and under the metal body. “INCOMING!” The agents dove behind their cars. The machine shot a beam of straight fire into the cars, which would have exploded them all, if I didn’t jump in front of them and throw up a massive force shield. I looked back at the town and hoped that Thor and the others were coming to help. I stared up at the thing as the smoke and fire cleared. I looked back at the machine. It started walking again, and I had to back away as it walked right through my shield.</p><p>	“GET OUT OF HERE!” I shouted back at the SHIELD agents. They piled into their cars and headed to the town, probably to make a blockade, but I knew that wouldn’t work. They knew that wouldn’t work.</p><p>	The machine geared up for another attack. I threw up another shield, but I was distracted by the agents leaving. Some of the fiery blast shot through my forcefield and hit my arm. I screamed out in pain and tried to cover my arm with one hand as I held the shield up with the other, but the machine was too fast. It was coming toward me faster than it appeared to be able to go, so I stumbled back. </p><p>	It changed its target, however, to a gas station right on the outside of the town. I turned and gasped. My arm had healed, but it still hurt, and I barely had time to look back at the machine before it shot another blast into me. I leaped back and ran to the gas station that was up in flames, screaming for anyone inside. The machine continued toward the town. Toward Thor. </p><p>	I flew up and put my mask back on over my head. I shot energy blasts down at the machine, but they barely affected it. </p><p>“See the slots in the machine’s armor?” Jarvis asked. “Go for those.”</p><p>“Good idea.” I shot more blasts and daggers aimed at the small slots between the metals of the machine, and I saw that it was slowing down, but it was not stopping. I tried to summon the lightning that I had access to earlier, but my hands only sparked and sizzled out. I groaned as the machine turned toward another building and shoot it with fire. As I caught a glimpse of Thor, Darcy, Jane, and Erik getting people into trucks and cars for safety, I saw the SHIELD agents attempting another perimeter around the machine. I just rolled my eyes and shot down to the ground just in time to throw a shield up to protect them. I turned back to them.</p><p>	“HELLO!” I screamed at Coulson. “Let us handle this! You guys get people the hell out of here!” </p><p>	Coulson only stared back at me as the machine shot another building. I screamed at Coulson again, this time just a lot of bad words, and that got him and his moving back to help the people. I saw Hogun and Fandral positioned behind a turned over car. I cocked my head. Volstagg ran in between them, they threw him over the car, over my head, and into the machine, but it knocked the giant Asgardian right back into the car. I gasped. </p><p>	“Volstagg!” I ran to him and looked up at the other Warriors. “What the hell is that thing?”</p><p>	“The Destroyer!” Fandral responded, helping Volstagg up. The Destroyer loomed over the three of us and powered up. I was about to throw up a forcefield, but Sif came flying down from a roof with her spear. She stuck it right through the Destroyer’s back and into the ground, pinning the machine down. It powered down and I looked up at Sif, grinning. She grinned and cocked her head at me. Volstagg laid his head back, relieved. </p><p>	“Well,” I said. “That wasn’t too bad.” Then, the Destroyer started humming again. Its small metal parts began twisting and turning, until it was facing Sif, who still was crouched on top. I helped Volstagg up. Sif jumped onto the ground, out of the way of the flames. The Destroyer pulled out from the spear.</p><p>	“Fall back!” Sif yelled as she jumped up. We all ran back as the Destroyer turned around and began following us. It let out a blast that ran down the street, into Sif, and then up onto the buildings and some cell towers. They sparked and fell. Everything was on fire. Sif was on the ground as she had tumbled from the blast hitting her feet mid-run. The Warriors ran to her, but the Destroyer shot more fire between them, sending everyone flying into the diner. I looked from them to the Destroyer and shook my head. </p><p>	“Alright, you freak! You wanna dance, let’s dance!” I walked right in front of it. “And Loki, I know you’re watching this! I know you’re doing this, you coward! I know that all you want is power, to be the king, but you suck at it, apparently! Even without his powers, Thor is a way better king than you!”</p><p>	The Destroyer fired up, and instead of blocking the blast, I shifted and shot a blast of white-hot energy back at it. We stood, me thrusting my energy forward and out of my hands, and the Destroyer completely still, shooting fire out of its head. After a few seconds of our blasts colliding, mine hit the machine and it went flying back into a car. I landed on my back. I hit my head. The Destroyer got up and shot another blast at me. I gritted my teeth and threw up a forcefield. Then, it shot another blast into the diner.</p><p>	“NO!” I screamed, crawling up. Sif came out from behind a car and grabbed me. We both stared as the Warriors were thrown out of the diner from the blast. I tried to help her up, and she tried to help me, but we were both weak. “This thing… is so strong. I’ve never seen anything like it…”</p><p>	Thor came running up to us. He grabbed us both. “Sif! Delilah! You’ve done all you can!”</p><p>	“No!” Sif gasped, trying to push him off. “I will die a warrior’s death!”</p><p>	“And I can take this thing!” I cried, even though I was breathing heavily. Then I looked at Sif. “Wait a minute, now!”</p><p>	“Stories will be told of this day!” she continued.</p><p>	“Live,” Thor said with a small smile. “And tell those stories yourself.” I glanced back at the Destoyer as it powered up, its head aimed at us.</p><p>	“Guys…”</p><p>	Sif sobbed and held Thor’s hand, but he pushed us out of the way. The blast barely missed us as he dove the other way, right across the street. I made sure Sif was out of harm’s way, then I ran to the other Earthlings, crouched down, watching. </p><p>	“What the hell is going on?” Darcy cried.</p><p>	“Crazy magic metal monster from Asgard,” I panted. “It’s strong, I’m not sure I can take it.” I leaned down with my hands on my knees and suddenly felt dizzy. I heard voices in my head.</p><p>	The Sun Constellations.</p><p>	Alonia.</p><p>	Graceful. Powerful.</p><p>	Celestial.</p><p>	I looked back up at the Destroyer. I saw Thor talking to the Warriors, then the warriors walked toward us. I nodded and clapped them on the shoulders as Sif joined us. Everyone started heading for the garage.</p><p>	And then, in my mind’s eye, I saw the Destroyer. Defeated. Thor stood over it, eyes filled with lightning again. I blinked and looked back as Jane stared at Thor walking to the Destroyer. </p><p>	“What is he doing?” she cried. Sif made a move forward, but I put a hand in front of her.</p><p>	I knew that I could take the machine. I could destroy the Destroyer, if I could only focus on that white-hot energy that was inside me. I was powerful, but this was Thor’s test. Frigga would want him to prove himself, to become the king he was meant to be. So, I stood there. Watching. I heard Thor speaking to the Destroyer as they met in the street, but no one else did.</p><p>	“Brother, whatever I have done to wrong you, whatever I have done to lead you to do this, I am truly sorry. But these people are innocent. Taking their lives will gain you nothing.” The Destroyer’s face opened, and the furnace burned up. “So, take mine. And end this.” I clenched my eyes shut.</p><p>	Loki, if you can hear me across the worlds, if you even care, please! You do not have to do this! I didn’t hear anything, no blasts or dying, so I opened my eyes. The Destroyer turned away from Thor. I breathed out in relief and grinned. </p><p>	Then, the Destroyer turned around and backhanded Thor, sending him flying into the air. I gasped. Jane screamed and ran for him. I threw a shield under Thor, and he landed on that instead of the hard gravel, but he still tumbled and fell over onto the ground. Jane ran up to him and held him as he laid there. I stared at the others, their faces full of shock, fear, and pain. </p><p>	“Delilah, I don’t want to upset you,” Jarvis said in my ear, “But CE levels are falling.”</p><p>	“No,” I whispered. My vision can’t have been wrong. The Destroyer turned away and started walking off. Everyone began to cry. I just walked to the middle of the street and watched the Destroyer walk away. I shook my head and flew after it, even though the people behind me were screaming for me to not. I flew up and pushed all the energy I had inside me down to the machine. A stream of energy flew down, this time, not just white, but also yellow, green, and even blue. The energy flew into the Destroyer and knocked it back off its feet.</p><p>	“Delilah, CE incoming,” Jarvis said. I looked over and saw something hurtling through the sky and down to where Thor laid. My eyes widened. </p><p>	“And something else, too!” I dodged a blast from the Destroyer and flew back down to the Warriors, who grabbed me and held me back. we all stared at Thor as he stood, holding the hammer from the crater, in full-on fancy Asgardian armor. He threw Mjolnir into the Destroyer, sending it flying. I grinned. Thor jumped up to the sky, where dark clouds were circling over the town. Everyone ran for the warehouse as the Destroyer shot up blasts. The Destroyer was lifted off its feet and sucked into the circular storm Thor created. It shot blasts at the god of thunder, but Thor dodged them all with his hammer. He shot down into the Destroyer from above. Energy blasted from the Destroyer, the clouds flashed with lightning and thunder rolled, and then the machine fell. The clouds disappeared, and Thor flew down to the street. </p><p>	We all ran outside to meet him. I pulled my mask off and fixed it into a headband. He walked through the settling dust and smiled down at Jane, who ran to him.  </p><p>	“Is this always how you look?” she asked.</p><p>	“More or less,” Thor replied, smirking.</p><p>	“It’s a good look.” Jane smirked back and nodded. I laughed and rolled my eyes. </p><p>	“We must go back to the Bifrost site! I must have words with my brother,” Thor called to the Warriors. I gritted my teeth as a man in a suit came running from around the corner.</p><p>	“Excuse me!” Coulson yelled to us. I looked around to see a government car with a few other agents getting out. Coulson walked up to Thor and me. “Donald? I don’t think you’ve been completely honest with me.” He glanced at me. “Neither have you, Miss Stark.” </p><p>	“Know this, Son of Coul,” Thor replied, putting a hand on my shoulder. “You and I, we fight for the same cause, the protection of this world. And I know Lady Delilah is also on your side.”</p><p>	I shrugged at Coulson. “More or less.”</p><p>	“From this day forward, you can count me as your ally. If,” he backed up and put his arm around Jane’s back, “You return the items you have taken from Jane.”</p><p>	“Stolen!” Jane snapped at Coulson.</p><p>	“Borrowed,” he deadpanned back. He paused. “Of course, you can have your equipment back. You’re gonna need it to continue your research.” Jane and Erik shared a look. </p><p>	“Would you like to see the bridge we spoke of?” Thor asked Jane. </p><p>	“Uh,” she replied, shrugging and grinning. “Sure.” Thor pulled her into him, and she giggled and laughed as he shot them up into the air.</p><p>	“WAIT, I NEED TO DEBRIEF YOU!” Coulson shouted after them. I just laughed as they took off into the sky.</p>
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<a name="section0009"><h2>9. The Bifrost Falls</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Thor ran to the center of the crater and looked up.</p><p>	“HEIMDALL, OPEN THE BIFROST!” Thor shouted to the sky. He looked around. Nothing happened.</p><p>“So,” Darcy said to Volstagg, “How can you speak our language… if you’re from another planet?”</p><p>	“Ha!” Volstagg laughed. “Girl, you are speaking ours!” I just shrugged at Darcy. </p><p>	“Probably… magic translation stuff,” I told her. She just nodded and gave me a face like I was crazy. </p><p>	“Heimdall?” Thor called again, this time sounding less confident. He looked to his friends. “He doesn’t answer.”</p><p>	“Then we are stranded,” Hogun said bitterly. </p><p>	“HEIMDALL!” Thor yelled. “If you can hear me, we need you now!”</p><p>	“Doesn’t hear us all the time?” I asked. “Why’s he not answering?”</p><p>	“Something has happened on Asgard,” Sif replied. She stared at Thor.</p><p>	“All the more reason we must go back! NOW! HEIMDALL!” The Bifrost opened in the sky and the Warriors, Sif, and I ran for it. I turned around for Thor and saw him and Jane kissing. Passionately. Like, really, really, desperately. </p><p>	“DUDE!” I shouted. “We get it, but like…” I waved for the Bifrost. Thor walked over and nodded to me.</p><p>	“Lady Delilah, you have been an honorable adversary, and a true friend. I will be sure to tell my father of your heroics once he has woken.”</p><p>	I laughed and nodded. “Okay, cool, but I could… just tell him myself?” I looked at the others, waiting to enter the Bifrost.</p><p>	“This is your home. I must return to mine.”</p><p>	“But Thor, your mom and my mom—I can help—whatever Loki’s done, it can’t—and I need answers, and—”</p><p>	“Lady Delilah,” Thor said, chuckling. “Your home is here. You must protect this realm as I protect mine.” I sighed. “Once Asgard is safe from my brother’s plot, I will send for you. You will get your answers.”</p><p>	“Fine,” I muttered. I rolled my eyes. “Farewell, Thor! Farewell, Warriors! Lady sif!”</p><p>	They waved as the disappeared into the colors and whooshing of the Bifrost. We looked up as it rose up into the clouds and disappeared. I sighed and looked around. </p><p>	“Well,” I said. “That was something.” </p><p>	A song started playing. I looked around, confused, recognizing the song, then heard Jarvis speak.</p><p>	“Delilah, your father is on the phone.”</p><p>	“Oh, shit,” I muttered. “Not right now.”</p><p>	“I have orders to disregard your declination,” Jarvis replied. Back in Black stopped playing and my dad’s voice boomed in my ears.</p><p>	“WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON OVER THERE? ONE MINUTE YOU’RE FINE, VITALS A LITTLE HIGH, AND THEN THE NEXT MINUTE, YOU’RE NOT EVEN ON THE RADAR? AND JARVIS SAID YOU WERE NO LONGER ON EARTH! WHAT THE HELL AM I SUPPOSED TO THINK WHEN YOU JUST SHOOT OFF TO NEW MEXICO AFTER RELEASING THE BIGGEST ENERGY STREAM OF YOUR LIFE, NOT TO MENTION LIGHTNING—”</p><p>	“Okay, okay, hey, Dad, okay!” I hissed, walking away from the group. “Okay! I… I can explain when I get home, but—"</p><p>	“Jesus Christ, Delilah, just tell me! NOW!” I rolled my eyes.</p><p>	“Whoa, Dad, screaming father is not your look. Calm down.”</p><p>	“You want me to get Rhodey to yell at you? ‘Cause he’s pissed as hell. Ask Pepper, and Happy! You fucking scared us when you went completely off the radar and—and—”</p><p>	“Dad, I’m pretty sure if you don’t already have high blood pressure, you might want to go get checked out.” I noticed that the ground was getting darker. I looked up and saw the clouds swirling, darkening, and opening back up for the Bifrost. I squinted my eyes. “Hey, Dad, I swear, I’ll explain everything when I get back, but I gotta go…”</p><p>	“Jane!” Erik called. We all stared up, but the Bifrost never came down.</p><p>	“Something’s wrong there!” I called over the winds. “Hold on, I’ll check it out!”</p><p>	“What the hell are you checking out? I swear to God, Delilah—”</p><p>	“Ha! Which one?”</p><p>	“What—?”</p><p>	I flew up to the clouds, to where the Bifrost was open. I heard fighting.</p><p>	“HEIMDALL!” I screamed.</p><p>	“Lady Delilah?”</p><p>	“Lady Delilah?”</p><p>	Both familiar voices shouted back at me with small echoes. </p><p>	“What are you doing?” Dad screamed.</p><p>	“Jesus, Jarvis, I don’t have time for this!”</p><p>	“I cannot hang up, unfortunately.”</p><p>	“Dad, hang up, I am so not—”</p><p>	“Absolutely not, not until you tell me what the hell is going on!”</p><p>	“For fuck’s sake!” I screamed. </p><p>	“The bridge has not closed completely.”</p><p>	“I have to go help!”</p><p>	“Theoretically, you could make it to Asgard.”</p><p>	“Ass-what?” Dad shouted. </p><p>	“Dad, leave me alone right now!” </p><p>	Thor and Loki continued fighting. Their voices grew faint. </p><p>	“Shit. Alright, Dad, if you won’t hang up, I will!”</p><p>	“You can’t—”</p><p>	His voice muffled and crackled away as I shot through the Bifrost. It was rockier than the other times I journeyed through it, and my arm broke through the colorful barrier. I pulled back in and shot into the observatory. I was forced through it and out onto the bridge, where I rolled and skidded to a stop. Inside, Loki and Thor were fighting, but had paused to stare at me. I pushed myself up on my knees. Thor grabbed Loki and flew both of them out of the observatory and onto the bridge, where I sat, gasping and panting from the rough ride on the Bifrost. Thor threw Loki, who landed near the edge, then toppled over. He held onto the ledge.</p><p>	I gasped and ran to Loki, who looked up at me. Thor ran to the ledge as well. Loki’s eyes pleaded with us, but somehow, I felt that he was not genuine.</p><p>	“Brother, please,” Loki cried softly. Thor and I both offered our hands down, but Loki disappeared into shimmering light. Someone behind me grabbed me by the hair and pulled me back, sending me flying onto the bridge. Loki stood over Thor and stabbed him with the spear, then threw him over to me. I leaned up on my elbows as illusions of Loki appeared around us, laughing. I looked around at them, able to feel the fakeness of them, until I looked into one’s eyes and felt genuine emotion. I jumped up and lunged at that one, then Thor threw his hammer up.</p><p>	“ENOUGH!” Thor screamed, sending electricity throughout the illusions, and sending the real Loki and me flying away. We rolled on top of each other until we skidded to a stop. I tried to push myself up onto my elbows, but Loki couldn’t even move. </p><p>	He turned to me, his eyes desperate. “You must leave.” I just shook my head as Thor walked to Loki and set the hammer on his chest.</p><p>	“You’re a piece of shit,” I groaned to Loki. “You would kill Thor, your own brother, and even your own father—why?” Loki just laid his head on the bridge and laughed. </p><p>	Thor helped me up and we walked to the observatory, but he faltered as we got closer. The sheer force and energy from the Bifrost were too much for him. </p><p>	“It’s okay,” I shouted over the whirring and storming noises. “I can get in there myself!”</p><p>	“NO!” Thor screamed, grabbing my arm. “It is too dangerous now! Look—” I couldn’t even see inside; it was so bright. “You would not make it through in one piece!” I whirled around to stare at Thor. </p><p>	“Wait, do you mean—am I trapped here now?” I cried. My heart began to pound. I just wanted to shut my dad up for a few minutes, not to never hear his voice again. Thor just gave me a helpless look. </p><p>“Look at you! The Mighty Thor!” Loki spat in a taunting voice. Thor’s face hardened. I looked from Loki to the observatory, panting. There has to be something I can do!</p><p>The bridge shook as the Bifrost’s strength grew. Thor and I looked around, from each other, to Loki, who really needed to shut up, to the Bifrost. </p><p>“With all your strength, and what good does it do you now, huh?” He groaned from the force of Mjolnir on his chest. “DO YOU HEAR ME, BROTHER? YOU’VE DOOMED LADY DELILAH! AND THERE’S NOTHING YOU CAN DO!”</p><p>	“My lady,” Thor said in a strained voice. “Get back.”</p><p>	“What?” I cried. “What are you gonna do?” He turned to me. </p><p>	“I am sorry. But I must do this. He cannot destroy an entire realm!”</p><p>	“I agree, but what are you gonna do?”</p><p>	Thor just picked me up and threw me toward Loki. I landed back next to him on the bridge as Thor raised his hand. Mjolnir spun into his hand, and he caught it. He started slamming it down onto the bridge. It cracked underneath his power. Loki slowly sat up. </p><p>	“What is he doing?” I hissed. </p><p>	“What are you doing?” Loki had tears in his eyes. “IF YOU DESTROY THE BRIDGE, YOU’LL NEVER SEE HER AGAIN!” He slowly got up and reached for his spear. </p><p>	“NO!” I screamed. Thor was right. If Loki was planning on killing an entire realm, I couldn’t let that happen. I would never see Dad, Pepper, Happy, Rhodey, Addy, or anyone else again. But I would have answers. And I’m clever. I knew I would figure out a way to get back to Earth. </p><p>	“Forgive me, Jane,” Thor said, as he slammed his hammer into the bridge with all his force. Loki leapt for him, and I jumped onto Loki to stop him. All three of us were thrown back by a bright cloud of energy and light. A hand grabbed mine, and we stopped falling. I looked up to see Loki holding onto me. Loki grasped his spear, which Thor held to as well. Grabbing onto Thor’s leg was a man with an eyepatch, white snowy hair, and armor that looked a little like Thor’s. I gasped. Odin! He stood at the jagged edge of the rainbow bridge. We floated there, above the cosmos and the shattering glittering shards of the bridge falling down. </p><p>	Loki stared up at his father. “I could have done it, Father! I could have done it! For you! For all of us!”</p><p>	“No, Loki,” Odin said, shaking his head slightly. Loki stared up at him, then looked down at me. I had tears running down my face, and so did he. </p><p>	“Loki,” I begged. His hand started to slip from the spear. “LOKI, PLEASE!”</p><p>	“Loki, no!” Thor yelled as Loki let go and we tumbled down. “NO!” I screamed as Loki pulled me into him, wrapping his arms around me. I tried fly upwards, but I couldn’t. All I could do was fall and scream.</p><p>	“QUIT SCREAMING!” Loki shouted.</p><p>	“YOU KILLED US!” I screamed back at him. </p><p>	“I am taking you back to Midgard!”</p><p>	“HOW?”</p><p>	“This last bit of the Bifrost will carry you home!” I tilted my head to see that he was aiming us toward a stream of colorful light in the midst of the darkness. I turned back to Loki, who was looking into my eyes.</p><p>	“What about you?”</p><p>	“I have a different destiny,” he replied. </p><p>	“Loki, you’re just going to get yourself killed!” He pulled away from me, enough to where I was falling first again. “LOKI, WHAT ABOUT YOU?”</p><p>	“WHY SHOULD YOU EVEN CARE ABOUT ME?” he screamed, still crying. “IF I AM DEAD, WHAT IS IT TO YOU?” </p><p>	“I DON’T KNOW, BUT YOU FEEL IT, TOO! I KNOW YOU DO!” His eyes softened, and I knew he wanted to say something, but he didn’t. He just grabbed my hand. Sparks flew from out interlocked fingers and we both gasped and looked at it, then each other. </p><p>	“Lady Delilah,” Loki breathed out. I looked up at him, into his glowing green eyes. “We will meet again.”</p><p>	“Loki—” </p><p>	He let go of my hand, and I fell through a hole in the sky. It closed up immediately as I fell through, the sky cleared, and I realized I was back in New Mexico. I looked down at the incoming desert and zipped up, barely missing the ground. I flew around for a moment, then landed near Jane, Erik, and Darcy. I fell to my knees and panted on the desert floor, surrounded by strange ancient runes. </p><p>	“What happened?” Darcy asked, helping me up. My chest heaved as I looked around at them. </p><p>	Jane was staring up at the sky. </p><p>	“Jane—”</p><p>	“It’s gone,” she whispered. </p><p>	“Jane, I’m sorry. He had to—”</p><p>	She just nodded and looked away.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0010"><h2>10. Conclusion</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Delilah makes plans for the future.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>This is mostly a scene from Iron Man 2. A few days after both events (defeating Vanko and the Destroyer), Tony, Delilah, and Rhodey get honored at an event.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>I flew across the city, its lights bright and beautiful. I really thought it looked like Asgard, not as grand of course, dazzling at night. As I neared the coast, I lowered my altitude and made my way down toward my dad’s house. I flew over the gates and landed at the front door. My suit disappeared and was replaced with leggings and a Midtown sweatshirt. I held my hand up, took a deep breath, and knocked. </p><p>	Pepper came around the corner, saw me, and ran for the door. She threw it open and pulled me into a huge hug. She began to sob.</p><p>	“Jeez, Pep, it’s okay, I’m fine!” I cried as I hugged her back. She pulled away, makeup streaking around her face. Her expression turned into anger.</p><p>	“Don’t you ever do that ever again!” She grabbed me by the shoulder and shook me. </p><p>	“Okay, okay, I’m sorry! I know!”</p><p>	“Is that her?” Dad’s voice came from the stairs down to the lab. He ran over to me, practically pushed Pepper out of the way, and crushed me into a hug. “What… the…” He pulled away and shook me by the shoulders. “HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?”</p><p>	I groaned and pushed him away. “Would you guys maybe like to calm down and listen so I can tell you what happened?” I grinned. “Because you won’t fucking believe me.”</p><p> </p><p>	I grinned at my dad. He looked nice in his suit and sunglasses. Rhodey looked nice too, as he stood on the other side of my dad from me. </p><p>	Senator Stern, still my least favorite asshole, even after my adventures on Asgard, approached the podium. Dad and Rhodey were being honored for their heroics at the Stark Expo, and me not only for my part in the defeating of Vanko, but also for discovering a whole new concept: a gateway to a completely different realm. And my bravery for the people of New Mexico. </p><p>	“It is my honor to be here today to present these distinguished awards to Lieutenant Colonel James Rhodes, Miss Delilah Stark, and Mr. Tony Stark, who is, of course, a national treasure,” Stern said, gripping the podium and leaning over like he was going to be sick. I laughed and then grinned out at the crowd of press. I waved to Pepper and she smiled and waved back. Rhodey nodded to Dad, who smirked and nodded back. Stern walked to us and a soldier held out the box with three shiny medals tucked into a cushion. </p><p>	“Thank you, Lieutenant Colonel,” Stern said as he attached the medal to the rest of Rhodey’s badges, “For such an exceptionally distinguished performance.”</p><p>	Dad and I grinned at each other.</p><p>	“You deserve this,” Stern said, squeezing Rhodey’s arm. </p><p>	“Thank you, sir,” Rhodey replied. I tried not to laugh as Stern moved on to Dad. </p><p>	“Mr. Stark, thank you for such an exceptionally distinguished performance,” Stern said with a painful smile on his face. His voice was less genuine than it was when he praised Rhodey. “You deserve this.” He pinned Dad’s medal to his suit jacket aggressively.</p><p>	“Ow!” Dad hissed. I bit my lip as Stern just gave him an incredibly way-too apologetic look. </p><p>	“Oh, I’m sorry. Funny how annoying a little prick can be, isn’t it?” Dad didn’t laugh, and Stern just took the last medal and moved on to me. I grinned up at him. </p><p>	“Hello, senator,” I said. Dad rolled his eyes.</p><p>	“Miss Stark. Thank you for such an exceptionally distinguished performance,” Stern dragged on as he pinned the medal to my dress collar. “You deserve this.”</p><p>	“Thank you so much, senator,” I said with a small laugh.</p><p>	“Let’s get a photo,” Stern called out in a very bored voice. He stepped in between Rhodey and Dad and put his arms around them. Dad grinned and smiled for the pictures, then put his arms around Stern and me. We both lifted our arms to give the cameras a peace sign. I only wished I could have seen Brad Mixton’s face when he saw the broadcast.</p><p>	Everyone knew about me, now. After the Stark Expo and New Mexico, there was too much coverage to hide anymore. I was as dangerous as, and even maybe more dangerous than my dad, but no one was really sure who the biggest erratic threat was: him or me. SHIELD was the most uncertain, but, somehow, even after my seven-hour long debrief with Agent Coulson and the director of SHIELD himself, they still offered me a job. And they handed me a manila folder as I left the DC headquarters. It was titled The Avengers Initiative. </p><p>		I was ready to find out how to get back to Asgard. And maybe—just maybe—find out if Loki was still alive.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Thank you for reading! My next update will be a filler story between Thor and The Avengers, and it will be all about Delilah's senior year. Stay tuned!!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
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